


RWBY X

by Raxtilt



Category: RWBY
Genre: F/F, F/M, Volume 4 AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-05
Updated: 2016-12-18
Packaged: 2018-08-29 02:45:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 13
Words: 23,536
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8472475
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Raxtilt/pseuds/Raxtilt
Summary: Before the start of RWBY season 4, I decided to write down my ideas of how it might start out. To no one's surprise, I completely missed the mark. But even as new episodes came out, my story kept going...Ruby and her JNPR friends are trying to track down Cinder or anyone else involved in engineering the fall of Beacon. With their leads drying up, tensions are high. And everyone knows what that can bring.





	1. A Burnt City of Scattered Memories

Ruby wiped her brow, backing up to sit on the remains of a large stone statue. One she'd crushed, actually. Most Grimm were little problem for Ruby Rose and her friends, but fighting for hours on end could really wear you out. Ruby tried to keep a strong outlook for the sake of her team, but that could only get them so far.  
  
"There were more of them than usual." Said Ren, as he helped Nora bandage up a large cut on her leg. She was so fidgety, it was surprising he could do anything for her without getting kicked in the face.  
  
"Ah, c'mon!" Nora grinned, but they could all see she was hiding a wince from the pain. "That was a piece of cake! Nothing can stand against- us!" There was a pause, where they all knew the word 'team' should have fit. They were a team, after all. Not one with a name, but a team no less. But none of them dared say as much out loud. Ruby knew she could never take Phyrra's place in team JNPR, and she would never dream of calling them her new team as long as Weiss, Blake, and Yang were still alive and well, wherever they were right now. So, as much as they all might want some catchy team name for old time's sake, an unspoken agreement prevented it. It seemed like Jaune was about ready to speak it all, though.  
  
"Guys... When are we going to stop kidding ourselves?" He sighed, pressing a cloth to his forehead to stop the bleeding from a gash just above his right eyebrow. "There are more of them every day."  
  
"Then we just fight harder each day!" Ruby insisted. "Jaune, I know it looks bad right now, but what else can we do? We'll find a clue to lead us to Cinder any day now, I'm sure of it!"  
  
"How do we know she's still in this area? Or that she didn't lead us here on purpose? I mean, I can't be the only one who's thought we might have followed a fake trail into this town that's conveniently FULL of some of the worst Grimm we've ever seen."  
  
Ruby was about to reply, but strangely enough, Ren beat her to it. "Unlikely as it may be, Jaune has a good point."  
  
"Yeah," Jaune began, before frowning. "Hey, wait. What's that supposed to mean!?"  
  
"Ruby, we know that Cinder had bases in this area before the collapse, but so far, we've found nothing to suggest that she stuck around once it filled with grimm. At this point, it may be safest to assume we're on the wrong track and follow a new lead."  
  
"What lead?" Nora finally spoke up, and all eyes turned to her. "We're all thinking it." Nora said, with an almost carefree shrug. "Look, nobody wants to be here in Monster Central, but if we don't find anything here, then where do we go next? The only hint we were given was Haven, and we can't exactly search the school."  
  
Ruby nodded her agreement. "What we _were_ able to find so far lead us straight here. We have to keep searching." Nobody said anything to that. Jaune stared at his shoes, and Ren put still more concentration into wrapping up the leg that Nora was currently swinging, probably without noticing. Ruby decided the silence meant she should keep talking. "Nora, did you or Ren find anything on your end?" She asked.  
  
Ruby had fallen into place as the leader of the group. Jaune had been the leader of team JNPR, but after losing Phyrra, he had a tendency to freeze up when under pressure. No one could blame him. Someone he cared about had died when she should have been under his leadership. He knew he shouldn't see it as his own fault, but when faced with decisions to send his remaining friends into life-threatening danger, he just couldn't take it. It wasn't a decision, so much as something that had happened organically. Ruby became their leader, and they all followed her. For better or worse. For now, that meant searching for clues about where to find Cinder and how to take her down, protect the other kingdoms, and if all went well, eventually restore Beacon.  
  
"Well, there was a mutated Ursa with three arms! Ren wouldn't let me arm wrestle it, though." That was Nora's version of a no.  
  
"Jaune?" Ruby asked next, though from his attitude just now, she figured she knew the answer.  
  
“Nothing.” he sighed, and Ruby took a moment to take a calming breath, closing her eyes and thinking. “Okay. Then let’s set up camp early. It’s supply night.”  
  
Jaune finally looked up again in pleased surprise. “Tonight? It’s already that time?”  
  
“You say that every time.” Nora teased, smiling again.  
  
“It really doesn’t feel like it’s been long.” Said Ren, leaning against some rubble now that he’d finally finished taking care of Nora’s leg. “But if nothing else, our bags are growing considerably light. We ration supplies to last only until the next delivery, after all.”  
  
“Yep. Good thing we can count on it all to get here on time.” Ruby smiled. The general mood had lifted again. Supply night was always a morale boost and always came just in time- to refuel their dwindling resources as well as their spirits. Ruby and Jaune went off to collect wood for the fire- around here, that would mean broken bits of doors, old scraps of garbage, and whatever else was lying around. Nora and Ren would be busy picking a nearby spot for their camp- someplace easily defensible and reasonably sheltered from weather and prying eyes. And then it would be their job to cook dinner. Jaune and Ruby could cook a decent meal, but Ren liked cooking, and he always managed to make something delicious out of whatever they had, which early on a supply night, was very little.  
  
“Jaune...” Ruby said, once the others were out of earshot. “I can tell it’s getting to you again. Do you want to talk about it...?”  
  
Jaune looked up at Ruby, meeting her kind, Silver eyes for a long few moments before turning away to pick up a broken plank. “No.” he said. But before Ruby could respond, he added, “Yes?” and sighed. “I don’t know.” Ruby said nothing. He needed to collect his thoughts, she knew, and so she walked away a couple feet to collect some bits of shattered scaffolding. She thought she might have been the one to break that, actually. “It’s just... It’s stupid.” he mumbled.  
  
“No, it’s not.” Ruby encouraged. “Jaune, you know you can talk to me.”  
  
Jaune dropped the pieces of wood he’d picked up and scrambled to pick the up again. He looked to be hiding his face, so Ruby made a point to keep her eyes on her own task. “Y’know, she said it just like that.” he said, the lump in his throat audible across the quiet street. “Before I started rambling about Weiss. How thick can a guy get?” He set to working picking up some paper off the ground. The building in front of him seemed to have housed a lot of it for one purpose or another. “But... You know that night, when I called and told you to go help her?”  
  
Phyrra. Ruby had figured that was what was really on his mind. “I remember.” she answered. How could she ever forget that phone call? How desperate and broken he’d sounded...  
  
“She pushed me into my locker, like Cardin used to do, and she sent it back toward the school... She wanted to save my life, even if she was going to...” there was silence for a moment, and then, “Even if she wouldn’t make it.”  
  
Ruby didn’t know what to say about that. Jaune had never told her that part before. “I... Jaune...” she started, looking over at him, but he had stopped and was staring at a crumpled up flier in his hand.  
  
“I just keep thinking. If one of the last things she ever did was to save my life for a greater cause, then what if... What if we’re on the wrong track and we never find Cinder? What if we’re out here in the middle of all these grimm for nothing?”  
  
“It’s not for nothing.” Rwby said, with complete confidence. “If she could be, Phyrra would be right here with us, helping us fight. Doing everything we can, no matter how bad things look. That’s what she did, Jaune. And because she did, we’ve still got you to help us. We’re going to find what we’re looking for, I promise. We’ll stop Cinder and the White Fang, and you’ll be a hero to Phyrra’s memory. We all just have to hang in there for now.”  
  
Jaune quietly picked up a few more things while he took that in, but eventually, he answered, “Yeah. You’re right.”  
  
Ruby was going to say more, but a large shadow passed over them just then. They looked up to see something bulky circling in the sky. To their relief, it wasn’t a grimm. It was their supplies. The two exchanged excited looks. The previous conversation was far behind them as they hurried their kindling back to camp. The fire would signal where their supplies should be brought, and there were few things more exciting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided I would post the first two chapters together, since this first one ends in kind of a strange spot. Before you decide I've bored you out of your wits, check out the second chapter!


	2. Tales of Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group gets their supplies, and Ruby catches up with someone very important to her.

Flames danced across the old, dry wood and paper, and the huntsmen and huntresses scanned the skies eagerly. “There!” Jaune finally called, pointing at a speck in the night sky. They all squinted at the shape as it came closer. Ruby was practically dancing in her cape, as their supplies circled closer and finally landed beside the fire. A large and bulky bag now rested on the ground beneath a rather worn-out looking little black bird, not even a fourth the size of the bag it had been carrying. It looked around at the teens with bright red eyes and just barely jumped out of the way as Ruby threw herself at it in glee. It hovered just above her head as she toppled over the new supplies and quickly righted herself.

“Hey, that’s no fair!” Ruby pouted at it, and with a roll of its red eyes, the bird rose higher into the air and then transformed before everyone’s eyes, into a tall man with graying black hair and a tattered red cape. He was grinning a cocky- if somewhat tired- grin at Ruby as she made her second attempt at a tackle-hug. “Uncle Qroooow!” Ruby cheered, clinging to her uncle, who gave a fond laugh and tousled her hair.

“Hey there, rose bud.” he said, in his gravelly voice. “You just keep growing, don’tcha?”

“That’s what people do.” Ruby answered, in a matter-of-fact tone and still not letting go of the man. It seemed Qrow had a rebuttal to this, but the others were gathered around now, and Ruby finally ended her hug to let her friends chat with him.

“Qrow! Hey, thanks for the stuff!” said Jaune.

“Did you fight anything cool while you were out!?” asked Nora.

“I’m eager to hear what you’ve learned about our enemies.” Ren added.

“Ooh, ooh!” Ruby gasped, as if suddenly realizing. “Story time!!”

Qrow slumped, though he was still smiling. “Ya can’t even offer me a drink before you start asking questions? Kids and their manners these days.” he teased. “I’d like to see you carry a bag five times your size.”

Nora’s hand shot into the air. “Leave it to me!”

Qrow buried his face in his hand for a moment. “Right, right. Forgot about super girl here. Well, alright.” looking up, he went over to sit by the fire, and the others joined him. Ren finished cooking dinner, and they all insisted that Qrow eat plenty. He was getting skinny these days, and despite their joking, they all knew that delivering their supplies was hard on him. JNPR didn’t know Qrow as well as Ruby did, but when you only have contact with the same three people for weeks at a time, a friendly face with new stories to tell was just about the best thing in the world.

Qrow buried his face in his hand for a moment. “Right, right. Forgot about super girl here. Well, alright.” looking up, he went over to sit by the fire, and the others joined him. Ren finished cooking dinner, and they all insisted that Qrow eat plenty. He was getting skinny these days, and despite their joking, they all knew that delivering their supplies was hard on him. JNPR didn’t know Qrow as well as Ruby did, but when you only have contact with the same three people for weeks at a time, a friendly face with new stories to tell was just about the best thing in the world.

“Let’s see.” Qrow began, picking at his food as he spoke. “Last time I saw you kids, we were…”

”In the ruins to the north of here.” Jaune said quickly. “You told us about the White Fang outpost you snuck into. Said you found a trail that you’d follow on your way back through.”

”Yeah, that one.” Qrow nodded. Ren offered him some water, but he quickly pulled a flask from inside his jacket instead and took a large swig. Ren and Jaune gave each other a look as if they didn't see this happen every time Qrow was around. Ren never pushed the subject too much, but he would continue to offer actual water to Qrow at every opportunity. It was good for him, and maybe one of these days he would actually drink some. It was never too late to start with healthy habits, Ren always said. “So, you wanna know how that went, huh? Well, it wasn't pretty.”

“Were you caught!?” Ruby gasped.

“And then did you have to fight your way out of an army of angry faunus!?” Nora added with excitement.

“No, they were running away.” Qrow said, and he was met with four looks of complete confusion. He sighed and tucked away his flask. “From what I could tell, they lost contact with Cinder not long after the Collapse. They’re bailing. Running away, so they don’t get caught up in whatever’s going to happen next.”

“What _is_ going to happen next…?” Ren said, his brow creased with worry now.

“No one knows.” Qrow answered, with a shake of his head. There was silence around the camp fire, save for the soft popping and crackling of the flames. They finished off their food with no words, but then Qrow finally spoke up. “Well, weren’t you all excited to hear about my amazing adventures?” he prompted, and Nora who fully understood the importance of cheering up teammates, chimed in.

“Oh, so you _did_ fight an angry army of faunus! And you haven’t told us yet!?” she scowled at him.

“Well, not faunus. But there was the mob of villagers who chased me for a good few miles.” Qrow reflected thoughtfully.

“Did you set a bar on fire again?” Ruby snickered.

“No, no!” Qrow held his hands up in a look of innocence that no one fully believed. “I actually saved their lives, see! But I also might have insulted most of the men in the village…” They all leaned in with amused looks as Qrow began. “It was a foggy night, and I could hear the sounds of grimm howling in the distance…”

The rest of the night was full of exaggerated stories from all of them, as well as jokes and laughter. Just as they’d thought- this was exactly what they needed. When the night wound down and the JNPR teammates set out their bedrolls for some shuteye, Ruby was left talking softly with her uncle. She didn’t tend to sleep a lot on supply nights. Qrow would stay with them for the next day, being sure they understood their next objectives and their spirits were high, and then he would leave the next night. It wasn’t a lot of time to have with the only family she was in contact with…

Qrow seemed to read her mind on that. With a glance at the others to be sure they weren’t paying any attention anymore, he said softly, “I paid a visit to Tai while I was out.”

Ruby’s sleepy eyes lit up, and she stared at him. “All the way back in Vale??”

“Yeah, well last time we talked, you seemed pretty worried about your sister. Had me kinda curious by the time I left. Thought I’d drop in, y’know?”

“What happened? Is Yang okay? How’s dad? Oh, I know he must be so mad…” Ruby wasn’t pausing for breath, her questions and worried spilling out.

“Shhh.” Qrow put a finger over Ruby’s lips and then gave her nose a little flick.

“Hey!” Ruby pouted, but she at least halted her barrage of questions, for her uncle to speak.

“Tai’s still steaming, but not at you. He thinks it’s my fault you left home. That I put it into your head of whatever nonsense… He’s promised a whole load of unmentionable things if anything happens to you, and all that.” He took a drink from his flask. “But you’re a big strong girl now. You were going to do this with or without me, tell me I’m wrong.”

Ruby gave a little smile and shrugged. It was true. The only difference in having Qrow’s help was that she had an eye in the sky watching out for her, literally. “And, Yang?” she asked, her tone careful as if talking to Yang herself. Last time she’d talked to her sister… It hadn’t gone too well. Yang had lost her hope in the battle of Beacon, and as much confidence as she’d had before, it was shattered with the loss of her arm. If Ruby could just hear that Yang was doing better, it would be all the good news she needed for a decade, but this was one subject that she hardly dared get her hopes up for.

“She’s hanging in there. Looks like she still spends a lot of time cooped up in her room, just brooding. Now, you remember your uncle is too cool for cheesy things like this, but it was important to your sister, so I promised I’d tell you.”

Ruby perked up a bit. If there was something that Yang cared about enough to force uncle Qrow into a reluctant promise, then at least she was putting her energy toward something, right? That was at least a small step in the right direction! She hung on her uncle’s words.

“She said you told her you loved her last time you two talked, and she didn’t answer at the time. Was pretty torn up about it, you know. Said you’d left thinking she blamed you.”

“Why would I think-?”

“That’s what I wondered too, but it wasn’t really for me to ask, so she made me promise to let you know she still loves her little sister. And that she’s proud of you. You’re doing something she’s lost the guts for.”

Ruby smiled. The message was bittersweet, but at least it sounded more like the Yang she knew. It was a relief, and Ruby found herself holding back a slight stinging behind her eyes. She hadn’t really expected that, but it had been a long time since she’d gotten to talk to her sister. Maybe it was just getting to her more than she realized. She gulped down the little lump in her throat and nodded. “Thank you, uncle Qrow.” she smiled.

“Yeah, don’t mention it.” he said dismissively. At first, Ruby thouhgt it was just his usual awkwardness about most things openly affectionate, but as that look of his didn’t go away after a second or two, she started to wonder if there was something else bothering him. “I think I’m gonna hit the sack, rose bud.” he commented, stretching. “That was a long flight.”

Ruby wanted to stay up, to keep talking and to try and figure out what was bugging her uncle, but she really couldn’t stop him from getting sleep after everything he’d done for them. There would be plenty of time to talk tomorrow, anyway.

“Alright.” she agreed. “I’m pretty sleepy, too. Had a long day.”

“You and me, both.” Qrow nodded, before stretching out on the ground. “G’night, kiddo.”

Ruby didn’t like him sleeping without any pillows and had made a point to carry around an extra bedroll just for nights when he was with them. She pulled it from her own bag near the dying fired and plopped it on his stomach. He looked surprised, but he didn’t object and laid it out to lay on top of while Ruby did the same with her own. “Good night, uncle Qrow.” she yawned against the soft cushion. “I love you.”

Qrow didn’t usually answer to those words, but something about Yang’s worries must have gotten to him. He mumbled the words back as the last of the embers died out. He didn’t know if Ruby heard him, or if she had fallen asleep first.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aww, look how happy they are in a city full of human-eating monsters. From here on out, I'm going to try and update at least once a week. Every comment I get is like a little morale boost to keep me writing, so please don't forget to tell me what you thought of my latest chapter!


	3. Descent

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ruby goes digging around for more clues to aid in tracking down Cinder, but she certainly didn't expect to find this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know my chapters are usually short, but this one is exceptionally so. It just didn't fit inside the chapter before or after it, so here it is. I'll post both chapter 3 and 4 today, to make up for it. Enjoy!

Ruby moved some debris off the floor of the church she’d destroyed the previous night. In her defense, it wasn’t on purpose. She’d been fighting a particularly nasty gorrilla-like grim. In the process, she had only barely noticed the mark on the floor, which she was now taking a closer look at.

It was marked onto the floor in a gray that was only just a few shades darker than the floor itself, but it was blatant to anyone looking for it. It was a rose much like the symbol Ruby had inherited from her mother, but this one included a stem and leaves. She’d seen it once before, on the ceiling of a building in Mountain Glenn, not far off from the White Fang’s hidden base. She might have otherwise forgotten it, but this one had struck her simply because roses were understandably important to her. And now, while looking for their enemy’s new base of operations, this symbol showed up again. Ruby told herself she had to be on the right track.

That was when she heard something behind her- it sounded like someone was shoving aside the broken door to come inside. Ruby quickly ducked between the pews and waited.

Footsteps approached, and Ruby held her breath and didn’t move to see anything more than the legs of the stranger. She knew it could just be some innocent townsperson who wanted to see what had become of their favorite chapel, but she had a feeling it was something else entirely, and as she watched black heels click into sight and looked up at green chaps held together with red string go past her, her suspicions were confirmed. Knowing the skill of the assassin walking up the isle, Ruby didn’t dare move in the slightest until all sound stopped.

Slowly and with one hand on Crescent Rose behind her back, Ruby peeked out at Emerald. Her hair was cut shorter now, up above her jawline aside from the two strands which now seemed longer than ever. She was mumbling softly to herself. “... Was here somewhere...” and after a moment of fumbling around in the wreckage, she cleared off a podium and used an old lighter to light a candelabra that stood on it. as she lit the final one, there was a click. The top of the podium swung open like the lid to a big box, and Emerald umped inside without hesitation.

Ruby waited, slowly reminding herself to breathe and getting to her feet. She was right. The enemy’s base was right under her feet. Ruby took one more slow, steady breath and let it out with renewed determination. She silently sent a text message to JNPR to let them know where she was. But it was incredible this hideout was still active right now. There was no telling if there would be anyone inside if Ruby waited any longer, and so, in she went. She was finally going to get some answers.

Stepping silently down dark steps, Ruby listened hard. Her own breath echoed in her ears as loud as a siren proclaiming _HERE I AM_ but she tried to keep in mind that it wasn’t really as loud as it seemed. Pushing ahead, she found herself in a large, empty central chamber with many hallways and rooms branching off of it. It seemed like there was no one here, though she knew that at least Emerald had to have come down here.

She picked the room closest to her and looked around. There were three beds and a packed bag in the corner. Someone’s stuff was still here, at least, and Emerald hadn’t been carrying anything when she walked in. The walls in the main chamber were lit sparsely with torch sconces along the walls. that light spilled dimly into this room, but Ruby still had to squint to make out details. She moved toward the packed bag, but a shuffling sound caught her attention, and she dove for a dim corner. She waited in the silence, but nothing else happened. No sounds or movement- nothing. Just as Ruby was beginning to scold herself for imagining things, a voice rang out and echoed against the empty walls.

“Show yourself!” the voice said, strong and demanding. “I know you’re hiding there. Come out now, and I'll let you explain yourself!”

Ruby frowned. It was probably her best option to do what she was told right now. Best case scenario, she could learn something about their enemies and also avoid getting killed. Worst case, she would still have to fight, but maybe she could at least postpone that until the others showed up. She sighed and moved away from the wall, but when she saw Emerald step past her doorway with a resigned expression, Ruby quickly pressed her back to the wall again.

“Oh, it’s just you.” the voice sighed. “Good. I really don’t feel up to a fight right now.”

“No, neither do I.” Emerald agreed. Both of them sounded fatigued and also a little stiff, as if still on the lookout for something. “I was just looking for...” emerald mumbled something that Ruby couldn’t quite hear.

“Yeah.” the other voice agreed. “Me too. I honestly didn’t think I’d find what I was looking for here, but I think I actually have.”

“Huh...?” Emerald wondered.

“It’s you, isn’t it, Ruby?” the voice asked, the tone now far more friendly. “I saw rose petals in the doorway. Come on out.”

Oops. She _had_ activated her semblance when she’d heard movement in the main room, hadn’t she? Ruby finally stepped out of hiding and into the large chamber, where she was met by the gazes of Emerald and Blake.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was a strange intermission for me, where I had to find something to occupy a space of time in the fic. Fortunately, the events here are helping me to iron out an ongoing plot, so yay for spontaneous character appearances!


	4. Cats and Flowers and Birds, Oh My!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With a friend and an enemy seemingly teamed up, Ruby has a difficult choice to make. Does she put her trust in her teammate or act to avenge the people of Vale?

Ruby’s hand was halfway to her scythe and her eyes darted between two familiar faces. She had found out from Qrow that Emerald had been in league with Cinder and Mercury, bringing down Beacon from the inside, out. And Blake had disappeared shortly after the battle, leaving no explanation or even a farewell. They were both greatly suspect in all of this, but… Last time Ruby had spoken to either of them, the were friends, weren’t they…?

“Blake…” Ruby gulped. “I- What are you- Why…” her hand shook as it latched onto Crescent Rose. She had faced down Mercury while coming to the horrible realization that he was an enemy. She knew it was possible that the same was true for these two, but surely, Blake…

“Ruby, it’s alright. It’s a long story, but we’re not here for trouble, I promise.” Blake explain quickly, but calmly. “It's good to see you.” she added, obviously making an attempt to act like friends again. Ruby wouldn't deny her that much, but Emerald seemed less than pleased. In fact, she looked… Scared.

“I… I can’t.” Emerald said, slowly shaking her head and backing away.

“I’ll cover for you.” Blake offered. “Call us even.”

Emerald hesitated, before nodding and taking off quickly back up the stairs. Ruby watched her go but didn't follow. Turning her attention back to Blake, Ruby tried to keep ahold of her trust in her friend. She lowered her hand away from her weapon and tried again to figure all this out. “What’s going on, Blake…?”

“It’s… It’s a lot. Look, I know what this has to seem like right now, and I’m not going to try and convince you all at once that it isn’t that bad. Like I said, it’s a long story. I can tell you everything. For now, will you believe that I’m still your friend…?”

Blake knew true betrayal. She had told the team about most of it. She knew that people close to you could change, and she knew how terrible it felt to come to grips with it while it happened in front of your eyes. If she was telling Ruby that she was still the same Blake, then Ruby couldn't imagine her lying. “Of course.” she nodded. Blake looked relieved right away and finally smiled in a slightly fatigued way.

“Thank you. I-” she started to say more, but there were sudden yells and crashes up above. “EMERALD!” she gasped and dashed past Ruby up the stairs. What else was there to do? Ruby followed.

Pulling herself out of the top of the church podium, Ruby saw Qrow attacking Emerald, who looked thoroughly panicked. Blake shot out into the middle of their fight, holding out her katana to block Qrow’s next strike. “Stop!” she yelled, and Qrow seemed surprised enough that he let his sword arm fall to his side, the blade tip resting against the floor.

“Well look who decided to show up. Decided your genocidal friends were worth joining up with again?” Qrow glared, obviously none too happy about his fight being interrupted.

“You don't know what you’re talking about!” Blake retorted, blade still at the ready. “We don't need to fight!”

“Maybe you’re not aware, but your friend here-”

“Uncle Qrow.” Ruby interrupted, and they all looked at her. Honestly, she didn't know who was right, but she _did_ know that Emerald looked scared and didn't want a fight. She just wanted to get out of there. And she knew that she trusted Blake. “I don't really know What’s going on, but Blake says she trusts Emerald, so I do, too. It’s okay.”

Qrow didn't stand down, angry eyes on Emerald. Blake and Emerald met eyes, and it seemed like there was a silent agreement between them. Emerald quickly made for the door, but Qrow’s eyes stayed fixed on where she had been standing a moment ago. Ruby noticed this and made an effort not to watch Emerald leave. She felt bad that Qrow was being tricked, but until they all heard the full story, this was probably for the best. Ruby hoped it was.

“If we let her escape, do you realize the damage she could-” that was when the illusion of Emerald must have disappeared, because Qrow cursed and spun around on the spot. When he looked back at Ruby and saw her guilty expression, he seemed to piece it together. He went to look out the door, but there was no Emerald in sight. She’d gotten away. Qrow sighed, exasperated. “Alright. But you come with us.” Qrow gave Blake a sharp look. “You’ve got a lot of explaining to do.”

“I know.” Blake answered simply and made no objection to following them to their camp. Well, following Ruby, anyway. Qrow walked behind them to be sure Blake couldn't give them the slip. Ruby knew he was upset with her, but at the same time, she’d finally found Blake again! This was exciting. This was good. And Ruby wasn't one to be somber for too long at a time anyway.

“I’m so glad I ran into you, Blake! The last I heard, you ran off and no one heard from you- Yang is going to be so happy!” she gushed.

“Yang is with you?” Blake asked, and Ruby could just barely notice her ears perking up under her bow. “H-how is she?”

“Well, she’s not here with us. She’s still at home in Patch. She’s still… Adjusting.” Ruby explained as gently as she could.

Blake’s expression fell. “Right, of course…” she nodded. “And Weiss?”

“Still in Atlas, I guess.” Ruby shrugged. “I haven't heard from her.

“Then, who are you here with? Other than-” she looked over her shoulder at Qrow and turned back with a sour expression.

“Oh, He’s just visiting.” Ruby smiled, and Blake raised an eyebrow. Hunting down those who wanted to destroy humanity usually wasn't described with the same nonchalance as a family dinner party, but then, that was to be expected of Ruby, wasn't it?

Ruby was saved the trouble of explaining that she’d joined up with the remaining members of team JNPR by them showing up right then.

“Ruby!” Jaune called from down the road, running over to her. The others followed close behind. “What happened? Are you okay? Where’s- Blake!?!?” He finally noticed the black-haired faunus standing right beside Ruby. “What- why- where...?”

“We ran into each other while we were searching an old building.” Blake explained with a smile. “Good to see you guys again.”

“Blake!” Nora beamed, throwing an arm over their friend’s shoulders. “It’s been so long! Where were you!?”

“I’m going to explain.” Blake answered, managing to pull away only because Nora was willing to let her. “Ruby’s still waiting for the details, too.” she didn’t mention Qrow. She had nothing to explain to him.

“Well then what are we waiting for!?” Nora demanded, turning around. “Let’s get back to camp!”

“What a great idea, Nora.” Ruby giggled, before glancing over at Blake again. She looked happy, in her quiet kind of way. If Qrow wouldn’t have objected, Ruby might have decided the explanations could wait in favor of spending some much-needed quality time as friends. Qrow was right, though. They needed to know what happened back there with Emerald and just what Blake had been doing all this time. Ruby believed it was quite a long story. A lot could happen in the time since they'd seen each other. Because of that, Ruby settled down back in camp, ready to be in for the night. The others seemed to be on the same page, too. As they all sat down and got the fire going, they turned their eyes to Blake.

“Well then, tell us.” Qrow prompted. “How did you get yourself caught up with people like her?”

“Wait, people like who?” Ren wondered.

“Emerald…” Ruby answered with a frown. The others’ eyes widened, and their attentions were now singularly focused on Blake.

She never liked this much attention, so she looked at the fire as she spoke. “It was… About a month ago.” she began.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Poor Qrow is just trying to keep these kids alive so Tai doesn't chop him into little bits and feed him to Zwei. It's tough to be a bird.
> 
> Remember to let me know what you thought of the story so far! Every comment helps me write more!


	5. Told Tales and Untold Truths

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While Blake catches up with her friends, it turns out that Qrow has some explaining to do, himself.

“I was following Adam’s trail. The White Fang was on the move, and I had a feeling that whatever they were doing, it couldn’t be good. So, I was following them, sticking to the shadows, ready to do my best to stop them when they made their next move. But they never did. They just, kept going. One night, once they’d all set up camp, I picked a cave nearby to sleep in for the night. And the next thing I knew, someone was yelling at me to wake up. I was surrounded by grimm. Turns out I picked the wrong cave to close my eyes in. And Emerald was there.

I was still half asleep, in no state to fight. So, what else would I do? I ran. Emerald covered me on my way out, but she didn’t seem to want to fight them, either. And once we were safe somewhere else, it looked like she recognized me for the first time. She said I didn’t look the same in white. I didn’t believe a word of it at first. I thought she was just tricking me, but she looked- well, you saw her earlier. Nervous. Like she was about to get caught at something. And that was when she asked me for a favor.

‘I shouldn’t have helped you.’ she said. ‘But I don’t want to fight. If you’ll promise not to tell anyone.’ I didn’t get much more out of her at the time, but I said I’d keep it quiet. She did save my life, after all. If she hadn’t, I wouldn’t have known she was there to begin with. And then she ran off. She kept turning up after that, and she would tell me a little more each time. That whatever she was doing, it wasn’t on Cinder’s orders, or anyone’s. That she was looking for something, for herself. That she wasn’t supposed to be there. That she could be in a lot of danger if Cinder or anyone else she’s connected with found out she’d been near me. For some reason, she thought it wasn’t as bad as long as it was just me. She looked really spooked to see you though, Ruby. It probably has a lot to do with what happened back at Beacon. They probably don’t want her going near anyone from team RWBY for now.

I know it wasn’t smart to trust her, but every time we ran into each other, we were both just tired. Fighting felt pointless. And the more I found out, the more it sounds like...”

“Switching sides.” Qrow said for her.

“Huh?” Ruby asked. “But, she’s still worried about what they’re telling her to do...”

“When you’re working with people like Cinder, you don’t do what you’re told because you think you should. You do what you have to because if you don’t, you’re not likely to live to tell the tale. Sounds to me like Emerald is doubting her team. Doesn’t particularly agree with them but isn’t entirely ready to turn on them, either. I can’t blame you for leaving her be for now, but the fact is, she can’t be trusted. People in that situation will keep hiding it until they’re finally forced to choose. And when they do, there _will_ be an ugly battle. Trouble is, there’s no telling which side she’ll be fighting on. Right now, even she doesn’t know.”

Ruby was silent. She stared into the flames and tried to imagine what that must feel like. In her mind, it was like being trapped in a corner with no weapons, two enemies advancing on her and no help in sight. If Emerald really was thinking about leaving her team, then she at least deserved to have a friend in the meantime. It was good that she’d had Blake. After all, Blake had gone through something similar. She was still going through it, really.

“You’re right.” Blake nodded. “I don’t want to think of her as an enemy right now. But she certainly isn’t a friend.”

“I think you did the right thing.” Ruby said, confidently. She met Blake’s eyes, and though Blake didn’t smile, she seemed to relax with those words. No amount of separation would change the dynamic of team RWBY. If Blake’s team leader believed in her, then she must still be doing something right.

“But I thought the white fang was going in the other direction.” Jaune finally spoke up. “How did you end up all the way here in Mistral?”

“I figured out that the White Fang wasn’t doing anything related to Cinder, so I followed another trail back this way.” Blake explained. “There was a lot of Grimm activity, so I thought our enemies might be using the old White Fang base here sometimes. I was waiting to see if they would show up, when I ran into you and Emerald again.”

“Oh yeah!” Ruby remembered just then. “When she showed up, you both said you were looking for something, but I didn’t catch what.”

Blake looked a little surprised that Ruby would bring that up, but then she shrugged. “Answers.” she said. And that seemed to be enough for everyone- even Qrow.

The topic managed to shift after that, Nora finally mentioning that she was hungry and pestering Ren to start cooking. It really was great to see Blake again, but Ruby knew that as soon as they’d all eaten, her uncle would take off again. She always hated to see him go, even though she knew it was important that he left to bring them back more info and supplies. She had barely gotten to spend much time with him today. “So, where are you headed to, next?” she asked, while the others were occupied in chatting with each other.

“I was thinking about making a stop in Atlas.” he answered. “You kids could use some more Dust with the amount of grimm you’re fighting. And I told an old buddy in Vacuo I’d be showing up to do some business, too.”

“You mean trading weapons on the black market.” Ruby pointed out, snickering at the fact that her uncle still thought he could keep that part quiet from her.  
  
“If you want to be that blunt about it.” Qrow agreed. “I’m used to being careful about who hears what, ya know.”

“You’ve got a long trip, then! Can you really fly that fast?”

Qrow started laughing at that, and Ruby steadily went pink, wondering what she’d said. Once she felt sufficiently silly and confused, Qrow finally asked, “Did you forget your uncle was more than just a shapeshifter?” he bonked her lightly over the head and continued, “I’ll be taking a ship to Atlas, and once I’m there, old Ironwood’ll get me an airship over to Vacuo.”

Well, that made a lot of sense. Now that she thought about it, Ruby realized how silly she’d been to imagine him flying everywhere on his own little wings. Luckily, she didn’t have to feel all that silly for too long, since they were soon distracted with dinner.

The first dinner after supply night was the group’s idea of a feast. It really wasn’t much more than usual, but with a big sack bursting with ingredients, Ren didn’t hold much back. He made sure to include Tuna tonight, which had Blake positively drooling by the time they got to eat.

And then Qrow set down his bowl. “Well, it’s about that time.” he grunted as he stood up.

“You’re leaving?” Blake asked. She might not have run into him today under the best of circumstances, but she still didn’t really want to see anyone go so soon.  
  
“I don’t make a habit of sticking around too long.” he said, stretching a bit in preparation for his flight to the coast.

Bake stood up and crossed the camp with something in her hand. “I know it’s probably a lot to ask, but can you get this delivered to Yang? With the CCT down in Vale, I never had a chance...”

Qrow hesitated, looking like he didn’t think this was the best idea, but then he took the folded up piece of paper. “Well, I’m going everywhere else.” he said with some amount of resignation. These next three weeks were going to be hard on him. “It’ll get to her.”

“Thank you.” said Blake, with a small smile. Whatever was in that letter must mean a lot to her.

Ruby gave Qrow one last, tight hug, and he took that moment to hand her something. For a moment, she thought it was Blake’s letter, but then she realized it was a different note entirely. “From Tai.” he said, and when Ruby looked down to examine it, Qrow transformed and flew away.

Everyone waved goodbye until the small form disappeared over the horizon. All except for Blake, who held back not out of a dislike of Qrow, but out of shock. “ _That’s_ his semblance?” she eventually managed. “He turns into a _bird?”_

“Yeah, it was pretty weird when we first found out, too.” Ruby shrugged. The others hadn’t seen Qrow hand her the letter, and she had a feeling they weren’t supposed to. So she stuffed it in her pocket for now, despite the curiosity that itched at her. Why had he waited until he was leaving to give it to her? It was worrying, on top of being plain weird.

“Well, I guess it works out well for us.” Blake decide and left it at that.

“What are you going to do now, Blake?” Ren asked, clearly expecting her to leave as well.

Blake hesitated, looking around at them all and at the sky. “I... Don’t know.” she admitted. “I know I found all of you here, but that still doesn’t put me any closer to figuring anything out. I’m wondering if I should turn around and go after the White Fang again. Keep an eye on them, at least, since it looks like Cinder’s trail ends here.”

“You could come with us.” Ruby suggested, hopefully. “We don’t have a whole lot more of a clue where we’re going, but we could always use the help. You know how to find these hidden bases, and that would be such a big help to have around! Plus, I mean... I miss you.”

“We all do.” Jaune agreed.

Blake once again looked around at all their faces, and with a resigned smile, she said, “Alright.”

Everyone’s faces lit up with joy at this, and Nora pulled them all into a crushing group hug which didn’t seem to please Blake, but she still seemed happy with her choice. Soon enough, they were all peacefully drifting to sleep, except for Ruby who quietly pulled the letter from her pocket. Qrow had said it was from her dad. By the light of the dying embers in the fire pit. Ruby managed to read it.

_“Dear Ruby,_

_Qrow came to visit today. He says you’re doing well, and I can only hope that’s true. I wish you had talked to me about leaving for Mistral. You didn’t have to go, you know. You take a lot on your own shoulders when things turn sour, and I just want you to know that no matter what anyone’s told you, it’s okay to just come home. Things will work out. I miss you, and so does your sister._

_Qrow has always had a habit of chasing answers that are out of his reach. He’ll leave everything and everyone behind to do it. I’ve known for a long time that you would end up following his lead one day. And that’s why we’ve decided that he needs to tell you the truth. If I know him, he’ll try and get out of it, but it’s time you knew._

_Remember that I love you and you will always have a home here with Yang and I. Be careful out there._

_Love always,_

_Taiyang”_

Ruby read through the letter about five times, more puzzled each time. The first part was just about what she’d expected. Her dad always worried over her like this. She’d known he would try and convince her to come home the first chance he got. It wasn’t going to happen, though. Things weren’t going to just work out on their own. Someone had to do something, and most people were just too scared. Not to mention what Qrow had told her about her eyes. If that was all true, then she had no excuse to sit around at home. She didn’t know how she’d done what she had, but she was the only one who could do it. Her mind was made up on what she was going to do, and that was why it was really the next part of the letter that bugged her.

It felt more formal and forced than his writing usually did. Like he was scared she was going to flip out after hearing whatever it was she was supposed to hear, and to top it all off, she had no clue what that was.

Once the last of the embers from the fire died and Ruby could no longer read the writing on the paper, she folded it back up and put it in her pocket. _‘It’s time you knew.’_ Her dad’s voice spoke in her head. If it was time she knew, then why didn’t Qrow tell her? She sighed and closed her eyes, willing herself to sleep, but the questions turned into worries and doubts in the quiet night, and it was a long time before she drifted off.

It was going to be a long three weeks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, so around here is when I finally got a beta reader for my chapters. Hopefully, that'll cut down on all the terrible typos. Also, since RT has finally shown us how all the members of team RWBY are doing, I thought I'd restate that this AU was thought up before season 4 began. I'm fairly sure I'd only seen the first episode by the time I wrote this chapter, and while ongoing canon is influencing a few little details of my story, I'm going to keep this going in the direction I originally planned, no matter how much it diverges from the current show. I think it'll be pretty great if it ends up as different as can be, actually.
> 
> Anyway, Just a reminder. This is not going to match up with canon facts from now on, and I think that's a good thing. Hope you enjoyed the latest chapter, and as always, let me know what you think!


	6. Burnt Out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's about time for a glimpse at how Yang is faring. Taiyang is doing his best to help in her recovery, but it's still slow-going.

“Is it hurting again?” Tai fussed as Yang took a seat on the bench-swing nearby. Yang didn’t answer. She gripped her right shoulder, hissing through clenched teeth. There was nothing there. She knew there wasn’t, but at the worst moments, it would still choose to feel as if all the muscles in an arm that was no longer there were being pulled and stretched until they should surely just rip. She kept telling herself she would deal with it better next time. It wasn’t even real, after all, but _god_ , it felt real. “Yang!?” Tai began to panic, hurrying over to her and reaching toward what was left of her arm. Yang hurriedly swatted his hand away, and he seemed to recall then that she hated for anyone to touch that arm. Instead, he did what he always did. He began to coach her in a hurried voice that was probably meant to sound reassuring but only sounded scared. “Alright, just like we learned. Close your eyes. Hold out both fists. Hold them tight.”

Yang hated it, but she did what he said. He’d gone through this with her before, but she still couldn’t seem to do it without being told. She held out her left arm, holding her hand in a fist as tight as she could squeeze it. With her eyes closed, she could imagine she was going the same thing with her right. She could feel herself doing it, holding her fist tight. So tight, it was hurting...

“Now, slowly, open up your hands. Relax...”

Yang did as she was told. As excruciating as it was, she opened her real and imaginary hands as slowly as she could, forcing them to relax. And the pain began to melt away. An ache stuck around, as if her phantom muscles were sore from their ordeal, but she could function again. Sighing, Yang nodded. She wasn’t ready to say anything yet, but her dad deserved at least a wordless sign that she was alright now. Well, as alright as she could be.

Tai put a hand on Yang’s left shoulder, patting it gently as if to tell her she’d done well, but she just wanted him to stop looking at her. She was weak and pathetic. She felt pain in an arm that wasn’t even there, and she didn’t want to be seen like this. This wasn’t her.

“I’m okay.” she finally managed, her voice stubborn.

Tai took that as his signal to back off. He stood up and said, “I’ll go get some water for us.” and then, mercifully, he was gone. Yang flopped sideways on the bench, laying on her left side-her good side- and pulling her legs up. The swing rocked gently beneath her, and she watched the ground move by. She was lucky to have her dad to help her right now. She knew that much, but she also just hated this feeling of helplessness and this feeling that he believed she was helpless. Sometimes, it made her feel so small, she wondered if she could curl up and disappear.

She knew not to dwell on thoughts like that, though it was almost impossible not to at times. She didn’t have Ruby’s always-positive nature. She had to admit when she’d hit rock bottom, and this was exactly-

No. She sat up and held up one fist. All feeling in her other ‘arm’ was gone again. She wouldn’t keep wallowing in her own self-pity. She turned to a practice dummy- a sack full of rice, hanging on a rope from a tree branch. She punched it hard once, twice. _‘You aren’t allowed to be useless.’_ She told herself silently. Another punch, and then two quick jabs. _‘You aren’t allowed to be weak.’_ the sack continued to take her punishment. _‘You’re going to get yourself in shape again.’_ Her vision was narrowing, her focus solely on the sack- the enemy in front of her. _‘You know you’re going to end up out there again. Fighting. Struggling. You need to win. You can’t afford to lose again!’_ She remembered the grim flooding the city, her own fear at not knowing where her sister was or if she was alright, finding Blake lying terrified on her back, shattered glass littering the floor and fires casting twisted shadows as Adam ran her through with no remorse. She imagined the sack to have Adam’s face, that almost-grin hiding under that freakish mask. She felt heat coursing through her veins, felt fires light themselves behind her eyes. She gave a yell of fury and punched that sack so hard, the tree limb holding it snapped. It all fell with a crack, a loud crash, and then the unmistakable sound of glass breaking as the limb went straight through the window of the backyard shed.

Tai came running, bottles of water still clenched in his hands and eyes wide. “Yang! Are you okay!? What happened!? How did-” he stopped when she turned around, red eyes still burning. She took heavy breaths, heat radiating off of her. Tai stepped back. No amount of distress would make anyone with a brain go near Yang when she was in a state like this. He gulped, set down the waters, and carefully went around her, making a point of inspecting the damage done to the shed and paying her as little attention as he could bear. Yang forced herself to take a few deep breaths. This was at least something she was accustomed to. _Breathe in, two, three, four. Out, two, three four. In..._

Once she calmed down and her eyes returned to their typical lilac shade, Yang looked over the shed with some amount of guilt. She really hadn’t meant to do that... “I’ll clean it up, Dad. Don’t worry.” she assured him, and though he seemed relieved that she was no longer on the edge of destroying everything, it looked like he still didn’t want her picking up.

“No. No, why don’t you go inside?” Tai sighed, but his now resigned look at the shed only furthered Yang’s guilt. She was used to cleaning up after things like this. She lost her temper fairly often, and it was commonly understood that her semblance made her akin to a force of nature when angered- there was no accounting for or preventing it. So, Yang would pick up broken glass and tree limbs all the time. Missing a limb of her own made her no less capable of this.

“Dad, it’s fine.” she insisted. “Just... Let me get this, okay?”

Tai obviously wanted to argue, but he knew it wouldn’t end well right now for him or Yang, so he nodded and made to leave. “Make sure to have some water.” he said as he passed her.

“Yeah, I will.” Yang answered, watching him head back into the house. They were supposed to be training today, but with her arm acting up and then her semblance being activated like that, it looked like that wasn’t going to happen.

Yang tugged the tree branch out of the broken window and set it aside before going into the shed to clean things up. She grabbed a spare broom they kept in there, but when she stepped toward the broken window, she found herself staring down at the glass on the floor. Light filtered down through the dusty air, catching the shards and throwing a couple specks of light in different directions. The darkness, the unnatural lighting, the broken window that she’d first looked through to catch sight of him...

Yang quickly swept the shards into a pile and then grabbed the dust pan. She used her foot to keep it in place while she cleaned up and tossed the shards in the trash. Her stomach was churning with a dread she told herself there was no reason to feel, but that didn’t help. She walked out of the shed, her fist clenched and cursing under her breath, before she realized she could ‘feel’ her right hand again, also balling into a fist. She made a panicked effort to relax them both again, but as it always ended up, her phantom right hand wouldn’t obey. She felt the false nerves go taut, and she dropped to her knees on the grass. Dad wasn’t here this time, and she didn’t call for him. She closed her eyes and tried to fix it herself, but twice, she stopped, gave a choked cry, and tried to grab at an arm that wasn’t there.

Hot tears fell onto the grass, and she curled up, gripping her jacket sleeve with a whimper. She didn’t want anyone’s help. She didn’t want to see her dad’s pity anymore. She absolutely refused to draw his attention. But that left her lying uselessly on the ground, trying to tell the pain to just stop.

Of the things Yang could have noticed at that moment, it seemed she picked the strangest and most insignificant one. There was a bird, somewhere quite closeby from the sound of it, singing away. Perhaps it was some sort of delirium from the pain, Yang thought, but the little melody almost sounded familiar. Yang was exhausted. She could hardly move, and yet somehow, the bird’s song calmed her enough to try one last time, close her eyes, hold both her fists as tight as she could, and then slowly... Slowly... Relax...

Yang didn’t realize she was falling asleep until she awoke. Outside her window, the sun was still up. It didn’t look like she’d been out too long, but she didn’t remember walking back to her room... She must have really needed that nap. She tried to think of what the last thing she remembered doing was. She’d been cleaning up after the tree incident, and then her arm had started hurting again. She remembered laying down on the grass and then...? She heard that bird singing. She must have gotten her arm to stop hurting. She’d passed out once before when it had done that, and it had been just as bad when she awoke. Really, how and why she’d come to bed was a complete blur to her. She tried to remember the melody that the bird had been singing, but that wouldn’t come to her, either. It seemed she’d had a dream, though, as she could still remember a quiet and angry whisper. Though the voice itself wouldn’t come to her, the words were clear in her mind. _‘He will pay, Yang. I promise you that.’_

Yang wondered if she should worry that those words were strangely comforting. She knew they were just a dream, but if even her dreams wanted to tell her that Adam would pay for what he did, she would gladly take that promise. Of course, Adam’s name hadn’t been mentioned, in specific. But there was no doubt he was the one who needed to pay. Maybe Ruby would get to him. No, that thought sent fear through her. Yang didn’t want here sister anywhere near that monster. Blake could do it, but that thought brought up way too many complicated feelings. Maybe Qrow would take him down. That was a thought she could get behind, though she couldn’t imagine Qrow going out of his way to get her revenge. He always seemed far more interested in helping Ruby. Maybe Yang would do it herself someday. Yeah, right. She couldn’t even practice fighting without going red-eyed and destroying everything. She was better off rooting for Qrow.

And speaking of Qrow, she wondered if Ruby had gotten her message yet. It had been hard to get moment to ask him to send her sister a message from her, actually. Tai was hounding him with questions the whole time he was there. How was Ruby? Where was she? What was she doing? Why had Qrow dragged her off like that?

Qrow insisted that he hadn’t told Ruby to do anything, and though Tai accused Qrow of lying, Yang knew that Ruby would have left with or without being prompted. Ruby would go absolutely crazy if she didn’t think there was anything at all she could do to help people. Especially the way things were right now.

And then, of course, once they finally could talk alone, Qrow mentioned the one thing that had finally gotten her to get out of bed and start training again. Her mom. Raven. “If there was ever a time to track her down, it’s now. She’s been in this area for some time now. I catch sight of her every now and then, and it’s starting to look like Ruby’s group could use her help. I’d love to go and find her, myself, but I can’t stay on her trail long enough without being late getting supplies to your sister. I’m not tellin’ you to hop right out of bed now and go look. You’ve learned that lesson before. But next time I’m back here, I’m gonna need an answer from you one way or another. She’s let you see her once, so there’s a good chance she won’t hide from you if you know where to look.”

Yang wanted to find her mother. Maybe even as much as she wanted to punch a hole through Adam’s head, but she just couldn’t do it anymore. What if her arm locked up like that in battle? She’d fall over and be a nice little snack for a grimm, no question. When Qrow showed up next, she would just have to tell him the truth. She couldn’t fight anymore. It was over.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's interesting to look at how my interpretation of Yang's situation stacks up to the canon (which came out maybe a week after I had first written this chapter)! I realize I don't come close to the amazing job RT did of representing true PTSD, but I hope you enjoy this chapter anyway. As always, let me know what you thought in the comments!!


	7. Bros Before Gunshows

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ren has never had trouble communicating with Nora, but for better or for worse, things are changing. Jaune has some important wisdom to share with his friend.

“I’m just saying! I’m not surprised they don’t get along.”

“Nora, Blake isn’t going to _eat_ Qrow.”

Nora and Ren had been having some random discussions for about a mile now, but this one was probably the most entertaining so far. Some groups had road trip music, but Ruby and her friends had Ren and Nora. Ruby was prepared to argue that she had the best possible deal here.

“I don’t think she’s _planning on it,_ but instincts can be a powerful thing!” Nora was saying most every word with its own emphasis, as if Ren wasn’t understanding her clearly or he would agree with her. “I mean, if Qrow was a pancake-”

“ _Nora!_ ” Ren interrupted, throwing apologetic looks at Blake and Ruby. However, Ruby was snickering behind her hands, and even Blake had an amused expression on her face. Ren looked puzzled at them both but then decided, if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em. “Blake, at least make sure he’s cooked first. You probably don’t want to know where that bird’s been.”

Ruby burst into laughter at that, holding her sides, and Blake couldn’t hold back a few giggles. Jaune was laughing too, and Nora was snorting with each amused little breath. Ren grinned as he watched them all, and he noticed that besides her giggle snorts, Nora was just plain smiling and looking at him out of the corner of her eye. As soon as he met her eyes though, she looked away. That was Nora, though. She never seemed to want to meet his eyes. He’d gotten used to it over the years, disappointing though it was.

Ruby started talking with Blake about something, but neither Nora nor Ren were listening. Jaune seemed interested though, so the two ended up just falling in step behind the rest of them. “Sorry, I wasn’t staring. Th-that would be weird. I just, ah...” Nora tried to explain, before she just reached up and poked his nose. She did this often- more often recently, it seemed- and he didn’t object. It was pretty much the only time she would look him in the eyes. He must be imagining things when she did though, because it always looked to him as if she was trying to tell him something important, but all he ever got was- “Boop!” Nora smiled.

Ren blinked passively at her. What was he meant to say to that? With no other answer, he finally decided to play her game for once. He returned her little nose poke to her. “Boop.” he said, and far from the reaction he’d been expecting, Nora’s face turned the color of her skirt and she stared at her feet, wringing her hands in front of her probably without noticing. Well, he knew one thing. He was never doing that again. If there was one thing Ren figured he was good at without even trying, it was upsetting Nora. He didn’t even know how he did it most of the time, but he seemed exceptional at taking away her bubbly attitude in exchange for tense silence. He tuned back into what Ruby was saying.

“Well no, it’s just that you’re a little less, y’know, _Blakey_ than usual.”

“Sun said the same thing.” Blake shrugged.

She seemed about to continue, but Ren asked, “Sun? When did you see him?”

They both stared blankly back at him for a moment before Ruby asked, “Did you just go deaf for a minute, Ren? She just explained this. She went back home to visit her family for a few days after everything crazy happened, and she ran into Sun in the area so he stayed with them for a while too.”

“Ah, right. I was... Distracted.” Ren tried to explain away having his whole focus on Nora, and she seemed to fall behind still more at his comment. He decided he would leave her alone for now. There was no point in making the situation worse.

“I really needed to see my parents happy like that again.” Blake explained. “It helped me to calm down after everything. And having Sun around was... Eventful.”

“Ooh, I smell a story! Tell me, tell me!” Ruby insisted. Blake didn’t seem ready to be very forthcoming about this, and though Ren didn’t mean to, he ended up tuning them out again.

He risked a glance back at Nora, who seemed to have calmed down again. At least until she caught him looking at her, at which point she went back to watching her feet. Of course. Ren sighed and felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked over at Jaune, who spoke quietly now, obviously meaning for only Ren to hear him. “Hey, it’s not my business, but if there’s something you need to talk about...”

Ren’s inclination was to say no. Even if he was the type to say much at all, he preferred to keep his personal problems to himself. At this point though, he was starting to risk the group dynamic with his mistakes. If Jaune could give him any pointers at all, it would be more than worth it.

Ren gave a quick nod and said, “Later.” Jaune nodded back and turned his focus ahead again.

“Ruby, how long to Amol?” Jaune asked, since she was the one with the map. They’d decided to try searching the closest town since their leads had run dry. After so long camping out in the same town, walking this far at a time felt strange.

Ruby unfolded her map and consulted it for a minute. She wasn’t the best with maps, but since she was nearly always at the head of the group, it had been decided that she should be the one with the directions in her pocket. “Ummmm, hm. Mhmm... And that’s... Oh! There we go! We passed it!”

They all groaned and gave the map back to Jaune. Ruby, far from complaining, matter-of-factly stated that they all knew they shouldn’t have trusted her with it. And off they went, back they way they came. With Jaune navigating, they made up some time, but they still couldn’t quite make it to town by sundown. So, camping out again it was.

The girls all went off together today, chatting away as they searched the ground for anything dry enough to use for kindling. It was difficult work in the middle of Spring. Once they were out of earshot, Jaune spoke up again. “So, what happened? Did you get into a fight or something?”

“Huh?” was Ren’s eloquent reply.

“You and Nora, I mean. It’s like, one minute you’re being, well, Ren and Nora. But the next, you can’t even look at her. And I hate to say it, but it looks like it’s even distracting you in the middle of fights.”

“I was hoping it hadn’t gotten to be too noticeable yet.” Ren admitted.

“It... Has.” was all Jaune could really say to that. “It’s just kinda worrying. I always thought you two were like, soul mates or something.”

Ren completely denied the fact that he’d turned a bit pink at that comment. “Nora tells me almost daily that she would not be comfortable with that.” he said stiffly, occupying himself with getting the ingredients for dinner ready.

“She... Does?”

“You’ve heard it, too. She tries to reassure me that she means no offense, but she repeats the fact that we aren’t a couple and will never be one, as if I’ll forget it.”

“Wait, are we talking about the same Nora?” Jaune asked. “You think all that ‘not together-together’ talk is because she doesn’t want you to get too close?”

“Well... Yes.” Ren answered honestly. That was exactly what he thought. But now he wondered if there might be another way to see it.

“Dude!” Jaune exclaimed, staring at Ren as if he’d grown a second head. “I thought _I_ was thick. She’s completely crazy for you!”

Ren looked up from the dinner ingredients for the first time, his face still pink. “What?”

“Listen, it’s not my place to tell you what to do, but... Just try talking to her. You’ll see what I mean.”

“But... I...” The last thing Ren wanted to suggest was that Jaune didn’t know what he was talking about, but did he realize what was at stake? If he ended up making things worse between him and Nora, if they couldn’t work well as a team, then the whole group would suffer. It could mean disaster.

“Ren.” Jaune suddenly seemed dead serious, as if this were a difficult thing for him to talk about. Ren soon understood why. “You’re my best friend. _Please_... Don’t make the same mistake I did.”

There was no discussion left to be had. Ren didn’t answer, but Jaune didn’t expect him to. They sat there in silent agreement, Jaune opening up his shield to tweak how easily it would collapse into a sheath. He fiddled with this every so often, since it seemed to come loose if he didn’t. Ren, meanwhile, concentrated on dinner and waited for the girls to return.

Instead of the laughter of their friends though, the next familiar sound they heard was gunfire. Jaune and Ren snatched up their weapons and set off at a run in the direction of the sound.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not much to say about this chapter, but remember. According to Nora, humans instinctually hunt pancakes. She is truly the best huntress of us all.


	8. Owls Aren't The Only Wise Birds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yang has all but given up, but a certain uncle has a few things to say about that.

“You don’t have the luxury to avoid this anymore, Qrow! We agreed that you needed to talk to her!”

“You haven’t seen it out there. The streets are so full of grimm, you don’t even want to cough in the wrong direction, much less settle down for a depressing old story.”

“This is more important than just some story, and you-”

“Oh, it’s important, is it? Let me tell you something, Tai, Ruby is out there right now, risking her life so that people like you can sit in your cozy little homes and pretend that there isn’t a war going on out there. She and her friends are getting worn down, and it’s part of my job to make sure they can still put on brave faces when I leave to go get them more food and weapons so that they can survive. That’s what’s important. And when I get back there in a couple weeks and I have to explain what you told her in your little letter, do you think it’s supposed to help her? Do you think that suddenly dropping the truth in her lap and then flying off again is going to somehow make things better for her? When she starts losing focus in the middle of battles, I’ll make sure to let you know, and maybe then, you’ll wish I’d waited longer.”

“You’re the one who’s always so clever! You find a way to make it work. This time, it isn’t my problem!”

“Your _problem!?_ You self-centered-”

Yang lost her balance in the hallway, toppling against the wall to her left with a very noticeable amount of noise. It was surprisingly easy to topple over when missing the weight of an entire arm. She’d been taking a nap when Qrow showed up, but the angry voices had quickly woken her.

Tai stood up form where he’d been sitting in a chair across from Qrow. “Yang!” he said in surprise. “I didn’t hear you get up. Are you okay?”

“Looks fine to me.” Qrow commented, and Tai shot him a glare over his shoulder before reaching to help steady Yang, but she’d already gotten her footing again on her own.

“Dad, I’m fine.” she grumbled, stepping away from him. “What’s going on?”

No one answered right away. Tai looked to Qrow for help, but Qrow conveniently avoided eye contact, looking rather smug while taking a drink from his flask.

“I, um. We were just having a talk.”

“Yelling, more like.” Yang frowned. She wasn’t going to push the subject, though. She really didn’t want to get involved in whatever was going on. She just had one question. “Did something happen to Ruby?”

“No, she’s fine. Qrow just got back from visiting her again.” Tai explained in a soft voice, as if trying to calm her down when she was definitely the most calm of any of them.

“Yeah, a visit.” Qrow said in a pleasant voice, his tone dripping sarcasm. “Just a nice little get-together with your sister and a city full of grimm.”

“Did you give her my message?” Yang asked, ignoring the obvious spat still going between these two.

“What message?” Tai asked, looking between the two of them.

Qrow stood up and walked toward the back door. “I got it to her. C’mon, we should talk alone for a minute.”

Tai didn’t object, but only because he could tell it wouldn’t do him any good right now. He watched Yang as she followed Qrow outside.

“Your sister’s doing pretty well out there.” Qrow started as he walked out into the yard. Yang followed, hanging on his words. “You were right about one thing, it really perked her up to hear what you had to say. Really did her a favor. And speaking of favors, thought about what I said yet?”

It was good to hear that Ruby was doing well and even better that her message had made a difference. But of course, now the topic turned to what she’d been dreading. “I... Yeah. Kinda. At first, I thought I could do it. I tried training and all-”

Qrow stopped, and Yang bumped right into his back. “Woah there, firecracker. What happened here?”

Yang righted herself again and looked to where he was looking. The smashed window of the shed, the broken tree limb still laying nearby, and the heavy rice sack still tied to it. “That’s... What happened when I tried to train.” she explained. “I don’t think I can do it anymore, uncle Qrow. I keep panicking, and then my arm starts hurting, and I just... Well, you see what I did. And then I ended up just laying around because of one of those fake arm pains.”

“Did you get your dad’s help?” was all Qrow asked.

“Huh...?”

“Did you let you dad help you through it? He’s told me he has to.”

Of course he would tell Qrow about that, Yang thought, angrily. He was probably just looking for advice from one guy to another, but it was still her own private matter! She would find time to be mad about that later, though. “No, I... Not this time.”

“Then you finally figured out how to take care of it, yourself.” Qrow concluded.

“Well, I guess, yeah, but-”

“And you’re saying you did that.” He jerked a thumb at the shed, and Yen nodded. “With your semblance.” Another nod. “And that’s the first time since the fall of Beacon that you managed to activate your semblance.” more nodding. “And you’re _upset_ about it?”

Yang stopped nodding, frown deepening. “Excuse me?” she asked. “Wouldn’t you be upset if you totally destroyed something without meaning to?”

“Well, depends on what got destroyed, but that isn’t the point. Yang, this right here isn’t a failure. It’s an accomplishment.” Yang didn’t know what to say to that. Had Qrow totally lost his mind? But he continued, walking over to the broken tree limb. “You’ve been sitting around with no drive for months, and now you found something that got to you enough that you did this! The way I see it, you’ve found something to motivate you. I won’t ask what it was, but if you ask me, you should hang onto it. And what you’ve got going on with your arm, well you’re learning to get through it, aren’t ya?”

Yang wanted to argue, but she also wanted him to be right. She looked over the mess she’d made, thinking. If that sack really had been Adam’s face, she would have done a number on it. And she did like that idea a lot. “I... Guess so.” she admitted. She wasn’t prepared to completely agree, but she wanted to.

“Well, I was planning on waiting a month or so before coming back here, but here I am anyway. So, I’ve got the info on Raven. You can take it or leave it, but whatever happens, no one hears about it. Not even Tai. My sister likes her privacy, and it would wreck years of work for a lot of people if someone pent poking around trying to find her. Someone she didn’t trust, anyway.”

“Doesn’t she trust Dad...?”

Qrow sighed and didn’t make eye contact. “She left, didn’t she?”

Yang couldn’t really say anything to that. He had a point. “Alright... Where is she?”

“I can’t tell you where she is, but I can tell you where to find her. And no, I’m not being cryptic, it’s just how these things work. Remember when you were little and you thought you found some hint to where she was? Well, you weren’t far off. That old barn you found was a hideout for her for a long time. She left some grimm there since she left, so no one would stumble across anything that was still in there.”

“What do you mean she _left_ grimm there?”

“That part’s for her to explain. In the drawer in the back is a knife with a red blade. She keeps it there in case something happens to her and we end up needing a way through.”

“A way through _what?”_

“You sure ask a lot of questions, you know that? She’ll explain as much as she wants you to know, and I’m not gonna get in her way. Get ahold of that knife, and-” there was a beeping sound, and Qrow pulled his scroll from his pocket, glance at it, and cursed. “That’s my cue to go.” he said, hastily pulling something else from his pocket. A piece of paper.

“Wait, your scroll still works? How, the CCT is down, and-”

“Another time.” he said, stuffing the paper into her hands. “I’m making a habit of leaving like this. Hm.” he mumbled. “Well, for the record, that’s the last message I’m delivering. I’m no one’s carrier pigeon. See you, firecracker.” With that, he hurried off across the yard and out the back fence gate, not bothering to go through the house again and deal with Tai. Yang stared after him for a moment, even after he shut the gate and she could no longer see him. She stood there, with so much suddenly dropped on her at once, she hardly knew what to do. Ruby and mom and...

Yang unfolded the paper, and she nearly dropped it in shock. _Blake._ Her eyes hurriedly scanned the paper.

_“Dear Yang,_

_There’s so much I want to explain, but right now, I’m still hoping I’ll see you again in person someday, so I’ll save the details for then. I know you might not even want to hear from me right now, so I’ll keep this short._

_I gave up on following Adam’s trail. He’s too sharp, and he’ll catch me soon if I keep going. Instead, I’m going to try and find some hint of Cinder. I’ve heard rumors that Ruby is doing the same thing, so who knows? Maybe I’ll meet up with her somewhere. Maybe you’re with her. I don’t even know how this letter will get to you, to be honest, but I felt like I needed to write it._

_I just need you to know that I’m sorry for what happened. If I know you, you’ll work through it just like you get through everything. I always envied that strength you have. I’m trying to be strong, too. When things get bad, I just tell myself I can’t lose hope. I think that’s what you would do._

_Never lose hope, Yang. Take care._

_Sincerely,_

_Blake Belladonna”_

__Yang’s eyes stung. She folded the paper, put it back in her pocket, and knelt down to untie the rice sack from the fallen tree branch. She would have to find something more sturdy to hang it from, she supposed._ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also written before Yang's first Vol.4 episode aired- Once I saw it, I felt a little bad about having her bounce back so quickly. She's still got a long way to go, but something tells me she'll be back in the action way before canon Yang. And of course there's Qrow, nipping this whole 'messenger for a group of emotional teenagers' thing in the bud. He's too old for that shit.
> 
> I've been updating pretty often so far, but I've started on a second project since then, so I'll be getting closer to that 1-week deadline than I've been. And by that I mean probably 4 or five days on average instead of like two. In any case, I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Let me know your thoughts in the comments, and look forward to next chapter. It's got monsters, romance, fighting, and drama!


	9. The Most Important Thing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> WHEN LAST WE LEFT OUR HEROES...  
> They were about to go kick some grimm butt. And that's exactly what they're gonna do. Also, renora.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is TECHNICALLY not late, but I'm still kinda sorry it took a whole week. I had a few days straight of just not writing at all after Sun/Moon came out. Whoops. Well, my schedule should go back to mostly normal now. I hope you enjoy the chapter!!

Nora had been in the middle of explaining something important to her friends, when Blake had stopped suddenly. The other two looked at their faunus friend, just as she drew her sword, flipping back the blade to fire into the treeline. It was too dark to see what was going on very far ahead, but they knew Blake was gifted with astounding night vision, and of course, a screech echoed from the trees a scarce few seconds before an Ursa came crashing toward them.

Nora grinned at the creature, happy for a chance to let off some frustration on an enemy, but before she could spring into action, two more Ursas followed the first, and two Beowolves after that. All five grimm growled at the girls, and Ruby and Nora tugged their weapons from their backs. This wasn’t going to be pretty.

Nora went first, the lead Ursa getting an uppercut from her hammer, right in its chin. It stumbled backward, and she followed without missing a beat, striking it again in its huge stomach and then blasting it with a couple grenades. Wow, this was therapeutic. And then her scroll gave a ring and she quickly flipped it open, shoving it in her belt and continuing to maul her Ursa while she listened to what her teammates had to say. Ren’s voice came through with a bit of static. “We heard gunfire. Headed your way.”

“Roger that!” Nora replied, before firing her rocket launcher at the Ursa a few more times. Ruby was zipping between the two Beowolves, getting them disoriented and dizzy enough to swing at each other a couple times, and Blake had one of the Ursas wrapped up in the cord bound to her katana. She was on its back, slicing at its thick skin with her sheath. It managed to free one huge, clawed paw and swipe at her, knocking her off. She landed gracefully on her feet and tugged on the cord, pulling her sword free and then firing at the Ursa.

Nora turned her grenade launcher toward the ground and propelled herself into the air with a blast of pink smoke. She let herself fall back down toward the Ursa, swinging her hammer down at its head, but the one unoccupied Grimm swatted her out of the air, claws raking her exposed side and catching at her metal belt, causing her to spin like a disoriented top as she fell back to the ground. Okay. That hurt.

“Nora!” she heard Jaune and Ren calling in worry as she was trying to get to her feet. There was a loud clang of claws on Metal as Jaune blocked the next swing of an Ursa with his shield.

Ren grasped Nora’s hand and tugged her to her feet. “Watch out for yourself.” he advised.

“Thanks.” Nora answered before turning back to the Ursa she’d been wearing down. She didn’t have to be looking at Ren to see his disapproving look as his eyes caught sight of her injured side, but she knew her own limits, and this was nothing. She was going to take this Ursa down!

Ruby gave a yelp of surprise as one of the Beowolves managed to knock her Crescent Rose from her grip. Jaune rolled out of the way of yet another swipe from an Ursa to go help her. “All yours, Ren!” he called out as he went.

Ren didn’t hesitate to go after it, digging the blade of one of his guns into the Ursa’s bulky arm. The Grimm gave a roar and swung its paw around. Ren, refusing to let go of his StormFlower, was swung around as well, but as the Ursa thrashed, Ren stabbed the other blade further up the arm and tugged the first one free. He continued this, climbing the Ursa’s arm.

Nora gave one more mighty swing of her hammer and knocked her Ursa’s head so hard it snapped off to reveal the disturbing pure-red insides of the beast. The head rolled away, quickly decomposing into black smoke that floated away on the air. Its body followed suit. Nora got her footing again and looked around at the others. Ruby was just using her rifle to assist her in slicing her Beowolf in half before spinning around to help Jaune with his. Blake had made use of some Dust to make her double turn to ice around her Ursa’s foot as it tried to kick her. It fell onto its back. Ren had one blade stuck into his Ursa’s head, and he was using the other handgun to fire against the Grimm’s thick head until it finally fell back. He went to tug StormFlower free, but it was stuck, and as the Ursa fell, its dead weight landed on top of Ren.

“Ren!”Ruby gasped. With Blake’s Ursa finally felled, they were all free to rush to Ren’s aid, tugging the stinking corpse off of him and letting it decompose off to the side as they checked on him. He wasn’t moving, and Nora found that she was frozen to the spot. Dread filler her every muscle and rooted her there. Jaune knelt by Ren’s side, checking him over. Ruby hovered beside him in worry, and Blake approached them all slowly.

“He’s okay.” Jaune finally announced. “It looks like he got knocked out, but he’s still breathing.” There was a collective sigh among them. Nora’s legs felt like jello. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d been quite that scared.

“Let’s get him back to camp.” said Jaune, starting to tug one of Ren’s limp arms around his shoulders.

“Are you sure we should move him?” Blake asked.

“We don’t really have a choice.” Ruby answered. “It isn’t safe here.”

“I’ll do it.” said Nora, as she watched Jaune struggling with Ren. She stepped over and pulled her friend onto her back effortlessly. “Come on.”

They all made their way back to camp, sore from the fight and sleepier than ever. Blake’s bow had been torn, and her cat ears looked scratched as well. They now twitched nervously whenever a breeze brushed against them. Ruby had a gash on her cheek, but it didn’t look too bad. Jaune had some bumps and bruises, but he was generally alright, and Nora was convinced she was fine as well. She carried the unconscious Ren back to where their things were still sitting unattended. It was a good thing this area was uninhabited, or they may have ended up with all their things stolen. Qrow would not have been happy with them for that, assuming they could even get by for the next couple weeks without supplies.

Jaune took over cooking, while Nora set out a bedroll and took care of Ren. They all nursed their own wounds and ate, talking occasionally, but no topic seemed relevant enough to last. They all cast glances over at Ren now and then, and Nora sat by his side until they were all laying down to sleep.

“You need to sleep too, Nora.” Blake advised, but Nora gave her a shrug and set her head on her knees again, her arms wrapped tightly around them as she kept an eye on her friend.

Just before they were attacked, Nora had explained to Ruby that Ren seemed cold toward her recently. In the end, both Ruby and Blake had encouraged her to talk to him, about more than just that. About... Everything. She had insisted that she shouldn’t- that it was a bad idea over all, but now, after that battle and after being scared like that, it wasn’t too difficult to make her decision. They needed to talk. But first, he needed to wake up. Nora’s eyelids were feeling heavy, but she stubbornly kept her eyes on him until he finally stirred.

Ren’s hand went to his head first, and he gave a soft groan that managed to communicate the feeling of ‘everything hurts’ very clearly. Nora handed him a bottle of water, and he took it, but then stared at her for a moment and looked around at the rest of the camp. “Was I out that long?” he asked, quietly, to not wake any of them.

“They just fell asleep.” Nora answered, though honestly, she’d lost track of how long it had been.

Ren took a long drink of the water, and Nora grabbed some leftover dinner. “Ruby finished cooking.” she explained. “It’s good. Well, nowhere near as good as what you make. But it’s food.” she smiled, and he managed to smile back, sitting up slowly. He took the leftovers but then set them aside again.

“You were hurt!” he seemed to remember just then. “Did you take care of-”

“Ren.” Nora interrupted, patting her side gently. She’d cleaned and bandaged it all up just the way he would. “I’ll be good as new in no time.”

Ren went back to smiling, and Nora decided she much preferred it that way. “Good.” he said, picking up his dinner once more and taking a couple bites.

“It wasn’t as easy as you make it look.” Nora commented after a minute or so.

Ren swallowed his current bite of food before answering. “It’s easier with help, but it’s good to learn for yourself, too.”

Nora crossed her arms over her knees and leaned forward. “Did you learn on your own?”

“No.” he answered. “My... Mom taught me.” The two very rarely talked about their families. It was understood by both that it could be a painful subject.

“Oh.” was Nora’s reply. She wasn’t about to go asking further. It had never been hers to know.

“I got into a lot of fights back then. Always came home hurt. She put me into martial arts classes to try and help.”

“I thought you didn’t start learning all your cool ninja stuff until after we met.”

“I stopped for a while. After...” The rest was understood. Ren took a few more bites of dinner before going on. “I stopped caring if I was hurt. I didn’t care about training anymore.”

“Ren... I’m sorry.”

Ren looked up and met her eyes. “You don’t need to be sorry. I only started practicing again once I found something else to fight for. Someone I wanted to protect.”

Nora stared at Ren in disbelief, half of her just waiting for the punch line, but none came. Nora had learned to do her best not to think too much on her feelings right in front of Ren, because she knew what happened when she did. Her heart started to race, and her mouth opened, but no words came out. Everything felt exceedingly warm, and her limbs felt shaky even though she was sitting down.

Ren obviously didn’t know what to make of her silence. He looked worried. “I haven’t told that to anyone.” he explained. “But lately, I haven’t been doing as well in battle. You’re... My inspiration, Nora. But I’m worried that you never wanted to be.”

“A-are you crazy?” Nora finally managed. “I... You... All this time, I...” Nora had never been at a loss for words like this. Whatever she wanted to say just came out. That was why she’d given herself her own codewords for feelings she wasn’t ready to admit to. When Ren did something charming that she just wanted to swoon over, how could she express it but with a cute little _boop_?

She’d said it so many times, it seemed like the actual words for these things had been completely lost to her. “I just...” she tried once more, deciding to start from the beginning. “I’m not like you. My parents were gone way before anything I remember. You’re the only family I ever knew. I didn’t want you to think... I mean, being with you always made me so happy. What if you- well- thought of us as family more- y’know- literally, and I was just being this creepy- th-this weird little-”  
  
“Nora.” She looked up, seeing Ren with his hand held out as if waiting for hers. Of course, Ren- polite, handsome Ren wouldn’t even take her hand by surprise. She put her hand in his, and he gave it a little squeeze. “Is it okay if we’re just... Us?”

Just like that, one simple little question took years of doubt and worry and frustration and melted them away. Nora could finally relax, and she round herself throwing her arms around him. "Oh, Ren..." she grinned, unable to contain herself.

"Owww..." Ren groaned, until she let go.

"Sorry." she giggled, and she found him laughing in return. So, maybe they owed their friends some thanks for the advice, after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so I know that these backstories aren't going to completely line up with canon things. I highly suspect that these two were from the same village and their parents died at the same time, but I didn't have a reason to think that until Chapter 4 was already out, so it doesn't count! Let me know what you think of the new couple! Or the fight scene for that matter! Hope you enjoyed!


	10. Classified

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Weiss hasn't been doing too well since her separation from her friends, and it's drawing the notice of others in Atlas.

“That was some brilliant work today, Miss Schnee.” General Ironwood said as Weiss stepped up to his desk.

“Thank you, sir.” she gave the usual answer. Though Ironwood obviously meant to bring a smile to her face, she didn’t really see how it was important. The students at Atlas Academy had been doing some drills outside the school grounds, and they’d been interrupted by a few grimm. Weiss had helped take them down, and she’d had no trouble doing it. But really, compared to what she’d seen back at Beacon, it had been the smallest inconvenience. She found herself hoping that she hadn’t been called to the General’s office just for that. It was like being congratulated for swatting a fly.

“I hold to what I said before. Once you’ve graduated from my school, I would be proud to have you in the Special Ops unit if you’d like to enlist.”

“Thank you, General, but... This is only my second year, and it’s hardly begun.”

“It’s been almost two months.”

Had it really been that long already? She was losing track of time lately. “Yes, but... Be that as it may, I still see no reason why you should bring this up now.”

Ironwood paused, as if he was considering how to answer that. “Take a seat.” he said, and she obeyed right away, as any decent soldier should. In turn, he sat down in his desk chair.

“Some of your teachers have come to me recently with... Concerns.”

“Concerns, sir?” Weiss asked. “My grades should be-”

“Your grades are fine.” Ironwood said. “More than fine, your test scores rank you in the top five students of your grade. Your sparring classes can hardly seem to keep up with your skill, and your performance today erased any doubt of your abilities in anyone’s mind.”

“Then, what’s wrong?”

“I’ve been told that you’re barely responsive in class. Your teachers say you seem to daydream through their lectures. You seem so inattentive that there were even some accusations of... Cheating, to get your current grades.”

“What?” Weiss gasped. “But, General Ironwood, sir, I never-”

“I know you wouldn’t do anything of the sort, and I’ve said the same to those concerned. You are a brilliant student and an even more talented fighter. But I can’t ignore that something is wrong. And if there’s anything I can do to help,”

“Thank you, General, but I’m doing fine.” Weiss recited. It wasn’t the first time recently that she’d had someone worrying over how often she spaced out, but even if she explained, there was nothing they could do. Ruby was probably all the way back in Patch, telling jokes and keeping Yang’s spirits up. Maybe Blake was with them, too, reading by the fire. Or maybe they were still doing what they always seemed to do. Chasing bad guys and saving people. She wished she could be there with them. Relaxing or fighting monsters. It didn’t really matter which...

“Miss Schnee, are you listening?”

Weiss jerked her attention back to the general. “Hm? Oh. Yes.”

Ironwood sighed. “There are some things that a classroom just can’t teach you. And while it’s important to continue your training, I don’t think you can grow much more until you learn a more valuable lesson.”

“What’s that?”  
“That you can always turn to those you trust for help. No matter how difficult the issue. You have friends and allies in more places than you realize, but I don’t think that this academy is going to open your eyes to that.”

Weiss slowly started to realize where this was going, and she quickly tried to turn the whole idea around. “General Ironwood, Sir, I’m doing great here, really! Maybe I could join a club and make some friends there?” she asked hopefully. He couldn’t send her home. As much as being in school again without her team was rough, it was nothing compared to that cold, quiet, old house with the sounds of her parents’ bickering echoing through the halls.

“Just hear me out. It’s your choice whether or not to accept my offer.” Ironwood explained, and so Weiss listened. Though she was already deciding on how she would word her refusal. “Since you’re ahead of most of your classes, we can send you out for a few weeks without any trouble. I can get you on an airship in a couple days, and you could be to Patch within the week.”

“I appreciate what you’re trying to do, General, but-” now, just a second. Had he just said- “W-wait, Patch?”

Ironwood smiled and gave a nod. “We would call it an away mission. Even old Jaque knows he can’t ask for details about official missions. You can take some time to sort things out and come back feeling ready to show us what you’re truly capable of.”

“I… I don’t know what to say…” Weiss admitted. She could go to Patch and visit Ruby, and no one needed to know. “Why are you doing all of this?” she asked. Ironwood was kind, and Weiss trusted him, but what reason did he have to book a private airship for her and keep it quiet from her father?

“I’ve known your family for quite a while, and while Jaque may not be the most fond of me, Winter in an invaluable special operative, and she mentions you often.”

“She… Does?”

“Part of my duty to the military is to make sure my soldiers are performing at their very best. How can I expect Winter to do so when someone she cares about is struggling? And in the end, I saw you fight back at Beacon. You had the spirit of a true huntress back there, but I’ve yet to see that spirit again since you came back to Atlas. No matter what else happens, I can’t ignore that. It isn’t something anyone should have to lose sight of.” Ironwood scooted his chair back a bit and opened a drawer, pulling out a piece of paper and a pen and setting them on the desk in front of him. Upon closer inspection, it was a mission statement. All Atlas students had to sign one before every mission, since missions were legally a form of contracted job done for the military. “So then, what’s your answer?”

Weiss looked over the details of the mission statement. _‘The student will use this time to gather relevant information and experience, to be relayed in a debriefing with Atlas Military General James Ironwood upon return.’_ it said. Exactly what information she was gathering was labeled as top-secret. “Is this… Er… Legal?”

“The council has already cleared the orders.” he answered. Of course he’d had to go through the council about this, since it was in all technicality an international mission. “Your team was closer to making discoveries about our enemies back at Beacon than almost anyone else. And honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised if you really did come back with more information on the subject. Team RWBY is an impressive force, from what I’ve seen.”

“We couldn’t stop Cinder.” Weiss stated.

“Neither could Ozpin.” Ironwood added. “That was far from a shortcoming on the part of four first-year students.”

“I suppose.” Weiss answered. He did have a point, though not a very cheerful one. And it was true that Ruby might have some answers about some of the things that happened during the fall of Beacon. There was only one way to find out. She reached for the pen and signed her name in graceful, practiced strokes.

“Thank you, Miss Schnee.” Ironwood nodded, taking the paper back. “Your flight will leave on Friday. Be packed and ready.”

“Thank you, sir.” Weiss said, not just reciting the words this time. She smiled as she thanked the general. She was going to see her friends again, and that was possibly the best present anyone could give her.  
She stood up, and so did Ironwood. He shook her hand and said, “I sincerely hope that you find what you’re looking for.”

“I think I will.” Weiss answered, confidently.

If Weiss had been having trouble concentrating up until now, there was hardly even reason for her to be in class after a talk like that. She actually found herself doodling roses in her notes, and though she scolded herself, she just couldn’t help it. She was excited. At one point, she was remembering Ruby sitting beside her in class, doodling and making jokes. At the time, it had angered Weiss more than anything, but now, Weiss wished she had her team leader there again to make her smile. Reminiscing on those times, Weiss barely even noticed that she’d raised her hand to answer a question.

Miss Azure, overjoyed to see Weiss participating for once, called on her immediately. “Miss Schnee! Yes, please do tell us the answer!”

After collecting herself and taking only a small moment to remember what the question was, Weiss answered. “No one knows for sure about the origin of grimm. It used to be believed that they were mutated forms of animals or even, in more superstitious cases, Faunus who had lost their souls. However, science has proven that these creatures are born as they are and share no genetic link to any known non-grimm species. Experts speculate that they have some sort of queen or nesting grounds in one or many of the densely grimm-populous regions of the world that no explorers- or Huntsmen for that matter- have been able to chart accurately or obtain any information on. The island of Wash is particularly suspect of this, as the dormant volcano there seems to be a home for countless grimm, including rare species not found anywhere else.”

The whole class stared at her, shocked that the most quiet student ever had suddenly said all that. Even Miss Azure seemed stunned. Weiss reflected later that maybe she had been one of the teachers to accuse her of cheating.

The next few classes seemed to drag on, and Weiss kept covertly opening her scroll in her lap to check on the time.

When she got back to the dorm, she looked around the room for a moment. It had never even started to feel like home. The walls were plain white, and the bedsheets gray and blue with the Atlas symbol on them. There was only one bed in this room, and Weiss couldn’t help but feel like there should be at least two, stacked one above the other. Four would be best, of course. This room was meant for four people to live comfortably, and as Weiss has absolutely turned down the option to join a new team, it was just her. She had her books neatly set out on the shelves, elegant bookends holding them in place since there was so much empty space here. Well, she wouldn’t be needing most of those where she was going. She supposed she would take a couple adventure stories for the road.

She picked up ‘The Knight of Copperwood Forest’, a book Ruby had forced her to borrow, and smiled. She’d read it two or three times, now. It was a fun story about a hero who saved the world with the help of his friends and a couple talking animals. It wasn’t something that Weiss would have chosen to read on her own, but Ruby had insisted that it was one of her favorite books Yang had ever read to her when she was little, and she’d pestered and prodded until Weiss had finally agreed to read it ‘someday’. Well, she’d read it. And to her surprise and amusement, she’d actually enjoyed it. Ruby would be happy to hear as much when she gave it back.

Weiss packed the book into her bag and looked through her clothes drawer, frowning. All she had were clothes for cold weather, and she was headed south, to a warm little island. Well, this was going to an interesting trip.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so happy I finally got around to Weiss! She's going to have a pretty big role coming up, so keep an eye out for more of her! 
> 
> Also, a HUUUGE thank you to all of my readers. Sticking around as my AU starts to take shape is something I am soo grateful for! I hope you keep enjoying RWBY X!


	11. Fading Star

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: This chapter gets dark, guys. Honestly, I felt bad about writing this, but in the end, things just wouldn't have progressed right without this, so here we go.
> 
> Ruby and her JNPR friends are back on track after getting a bit turned around the day before. Finally reaching the next town, they find that they can't rest just yet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry for the wait on this one! I've been having some serious trouble writing, these past few days. I would say enjoy the chapter, but honestly, you're going to suffer.

Ruby couldn’t help but notice that Ren seemed more cheerful today than he had been lately. She wondered if Nora had actually taken the advice that she and Blake had given. She wanted to know, but she wasn’t about to ask right in front of Ren. Whatever had put a spring in his step though, Ruby was glad for it. They all needed to stay sharp right now.

And speaking of staying sharp. Ren, who was at the head of the group right now with Nora, stopped, holding out an arm. Blake looked up, her ears twitching. And then Ruby heard it. A grimm’s howl, not far in the distance. Ren and Nora shared a glance before taking off at a run, and the others followed. A shadow passed overhead, and this time, it wasn’t a friendly one. A Nevermore was also headed in the direction of the howls, and it was much faster than them.

“Ruby.” Blake said as she ran. “Can you handle it until we catch up?”

“You bet.” Ruby answered, and the group parted to let her through. In a blink, she was shooting down the road and leaving rose petals in her wake. She overtook the Nevermore and arrived in the next town in a few seconds. It left her a little out of breath to use her semblance for such a long distance, but this was no time to rest. The town looked like it was flooded with grimm. A redheaded woman limped hurriedly into a building, looking like she’d been injured already. An Ursa was chasing her, and when she slammed the door, it swung a huge paw at the door in an attempt to break it down.

Ruby was about to go help the woman, when there was a scream from nearby. Ruby turned her head to see a little boy, maybe six years old. He’d fallen while running from a Beowolf, and it clearly thought it was about to get a tasty little snack. “Not today!” Ruby yelled, zipping in between the two with her Crescent Rose and slicing through the grimm, aided by one loud pop from her rifle. She turned around to see the little boy still cowering on the ground. He looked up at her with wide, blue eyes and Ruby found herself immensely glad that she’d arrived in time to save this little gem. Fluffy, platinum blonde hair sat on top of his head, and she gave him a reassuring smile. “It’s okay.” she said, and she scooped him up in her arms, holding him close while she tried to find someplace to leave the child that he would be safe. His little hands clung tightly to her hood, and she patted his hair gently. “Do you know where your mom is?” she asked, but by the sniffling and shaking that followed, Ruby could guess. “It’ll be okay. You’re alright. Hey, what’s your name?” He mumbled something she didn’t hear. “What was that?” she asked.

“Sterling…” he answered.

“Sterling.” Ruby nodded. “You’re going to be okay. We’ll get you someplace safe.” finally, she found a large, stone building. It looked like it might have been some sort of courthouse. Someone had the door open a crack and was motioning hurriedly to her. She ran over. She saw many more faces peering at her from inside. They must be taking shelter here. It was probably the safest place they had.

“Huntress!” the man in the doorway called. “Oh, by the gods, thank you. We can keep him safe in here. Please, save the others.”

Ruby handed the shaking child over to the man and said, “More help is on the way. Keep yourselves safe.” He nodded and closed the heavy, metal door, and Ruby gave a quick sigh. Well, at least she’d managed that.

Using her semblance, she went back to the house where she’d seen the injured woman take shelter. The door was crushed into splinters, but she had to still be alive in there. Ruby hadn’t been gone more than a few seconds! She hurried inside and found the Ursa. Hanging from its mouth was the limp form of the red-haired woman. Blood dripped from the grimm’s jaws as it turned to look at Ruby. And as if to taunt her, it snapped its jaws hard around the body. It gave a loud and sickening crunch, and Ruby felt her head spin for a moment. Her hands shook as she switched out her magazine for dust-filled rounds and fired at the monster. It caught flame, stumbled around for a minute with a roar of agony, and then toppled over. Ruby blinked to clear her eyes and turned around, headed back out into the town.

The Nevermore had arrived, and it had a young man in its claws as if hovered low over a building. Ruby narrowed her eyes and made her way up the side of the building as fast as she could. She fired a few shots at the Nevermore’s wings, watching as the black feathers smoked and the bird-like creature lost altitude, landing on the rooftop. Ruby swung her scythe hard and sliced the thing’s foot off. The man trapped in the claws managed to free himself and get away while Ruby faced off against the grimm. She leaped up into the air and came spinning back down with her scythe, managing to make a knick in the grimm’s neck, but not good enough. It beat its wings, and Ruby lost her balance on the creature’s back, falling onto the roof. She tumbled down the sloped surface and stabbed Crescent Rose into the roof to stop her fall just as she left the edge. She dangled there for a moment, part of her remembering being in a similar situation back at beacon, fighting Roman and Neo on top of an airship, the screams of her classmates echoing below…

The Nevermore poked its head over the side of the building, looking at Ruby like a delicious worm dangling there. It opened its beak wide and lunged while Ruby swung herself around her scythe’s handle, her feet coming up above her to connect with the creature’s beak and knock its head away long enough for Ruby to land on top of the roof again and tug Crescent Rose free. She lifted it to attack again, when its head suddenly exploded off of its shoulders with a poof of pink smoke. Ruby looked down off the building to see Nora waving at her. Finally, they’d arrived.

\---

It felt like an eternity longer of fighting grimm, when everything finally seemed still again. Ruby was staying upright only by using crescent Rose as a walking stick. It wouldn’t have been so hard on her if she hadn’t started all this fighting after she’d already gone so far using her semblance.

“Ruby. We’ll go help out the townspeople.” Jaune said. “Why don’t you rest for a second?”

“No.” was Ruby’s answer, and she stood up straighter with effort. “There’s someone I have to go see.” and with that, she headed back toward the center of town. Toward that building where everyone had been gathered. She needed to see Sterling again. That boy might have lost his parents in this attack, but Ruby had saved him, and that was worth it. That was worth all of this. She just needed to see him again so that she could keep smiling.

But when she came to the center of town, she felt lost. Where was the building? It had been around here… And then she realized why she couldn’t find it. Instead of that strong building, there was now a pile of stone and debris beneath the still-decomposing corpse of a King Taijitu. Ruby could see bodies beneath the debris, and she approached, hoping to help someone out of all this. Someone could still be alive. Sterling had to be. She dug through the rubble and bits of the building, trying not to think too hard about the cold bodies her hands brushed. “Sterling!?” Ruby called, straining to hear anything from beneath the stone until he tugged some of it away to reveal those fluffy, blonde curls and those ice blue eyes “Sterling!” Ruby smiled, digging, the rest of the bits of building away from him. “I knew you would be o-” she started to tug the boy out, but he was cold. She realized that those eyes had no life behind them. He was gone.

For a small moment, Ruby was frozen in horror, before she let out a scream. Her eyes blurred with tears. She wanted to feel a fury at something- anything- but the grimm here were already dead. There was nothing to occupy her but the awful truth of what had happened here. If they had gotten here sooner- if she hadn’t carelessly gotten them lost, then they could have prevented this. As it was, she hadn’t saved anyone. She hadn’t saved that woman who had fled into her house. She hadn’t saved any of the people who made it to this building to hide. And she hadn’t saved this innocent child.

Ruby sobbed, and she shook so hard that she toppled from her knees onto her side. She had become a huntress to help people. To be this amazing, romantic savior. It wasn’t supposed to be like this!

Blake found her first, and when attempts to talk some sense into her failed, Blake put a hand on her friend’s shoulder and sat there as she cried. The others arrived not long after, but Ruby didn’t care. She didn’t quiet her crying for their sake. She wasn’t even sure she could.

That night, she somehow made her way over to a building that they had made camp in. She didn’t eat, and no one said much of anything. And then she laid on her bedroll and stared at the ceiling, but she didn’t want to sleep. She wanted to wake up from all of this. She wanted to open her eyes and find Sterling clinging to her. She wanted to tell him that it would be okay. She wanted to sing to him until his tears stopped, and she wanted to see him smile. But she never would. No one would.

She rolled over and closed her eyes, but for once, she couldn’t manage to believe that anything would be better in the morning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really, really wanted to save Sterling, I swear. But this needed to happen for Ruby's sake. At the very least, I can promise it won't stay this dark. In fact, look forward to the next couple chapters! They're going to be cute. If that's any consolation.


	12. Those who Care

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Weiss sets out from Atlas, and as she does, she starts to realize what it was that General Ironwood meant about this trip.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so I'm really late, I know. I actually had this chapter ready in time, but I've been swamped with real life things and haven't had a chance to post in. As a consolation gift, please accept two chapters at once! Chapter 13 will be posted just a couple minutes after this one.

Weiss paced up and down the air dock. She couldn’t seem to sit still for even a moment. “What’s taking so long…?” she mumbled, even though she knew it was nowhere near time for the ship to arrive. She was excited for the trip to Patch, and there was nothing to be worried about, but she found herself more nervous with each passing second. Her thoughts her such a mess in her head, she didn’t even hear the click of heels approaching the dock.

“If you continue to wander like that, you’ll fall off the dock.”

Weiss spun around to see her sister, and her face broke into a smile. “Winter!” she gasped, running over in excitement. “What are you doing here? It’s so good to see you!”

“I came to see my sister off on her first Atlas mission.” said Winter, hands still clasped behind her back. “I can see no better reason to be here.”

Weiss couldn’t quite explain how happy she was to hear that. So, she just said, “Thank you. But I’m only going to be gone a couple weeks, at most. It’s hardly-”

“I don’t believe I asked for the details of your mission.” Winter interrupted. “General Ironwood made it quite clear that your orders are strictly classified.”

“O-oh. Yes, of course. I’m sorry.” Weiss nodded. She supposed it was for the best that her father didn’t know, but she wished she could tell Winter at least. She was part of special ops, after all.

“Wherever you’re going, just remember. Take care of yourself and never stop learning. Never stop growing, Weiss. You don’t see it yet, but you will soon have a choice to make. And I…”

Winter paused, her usually strict eyes going soft as she set a hand on her little sister’s shoulder. “I want you to make the choice that will fulfill you most.”

Weiss didn’t understand one bit. “I… I’ll try.” she answered.

“Do not try.” Winter instructed, straightening up again. “Just do.” The airship arrived then, a loud hissing noise issuing from it as it docked. Winter gave it a glance and waited for the noise to quiet before speaking again. “I believe that’s your cue to go.” she said.

“Winter, I… You’re acting like you’re hiding something.” Weiss frowned.

Winter gave a small sigh. “There are some things you should learn for yourself, rather than be told. You will see.”

“But-”

“No buts.” Winter snapped, and Weiss went quiet. “Be safe.”

“I will.” Weiss nodded. “I’ll see you soon.”

“Perhaps.” said Winter, and as the airship door opened and a young woman called out to Weiss that it was time to board, Winter turned and walked away.

Confused or not, Weiss was happy that her sister had come to see her off. She greeted the attendant as she walked into the airship and took a seat.

“Hello, Miss Schnee.” the attendant smiled. “My name is Garnet. If you need anything during the trip, I’ll be happy to assist you.”

“Thank you, Garnet.” Weiss answered. “I’ll be sure to let you know.”

“Very good, ma’am.” Garnet nodded and walked away as the airship took off again. Weiss’ bags would have been quickly loaded into the cargo hold by a pair of androids. It was efficient, if a bit unnerving. Weiss was never completely comfortable around those things since Beacon, no matter how much Ironwood and the teachers as Atlas Academy had assured her that such a thing could never happen again. They never thought it could have happened the first time, either.

That was really the last thing she wanted to be thinking about right now, though. It wouldn’t help to worry over things like that in the middle of the sky. She leaned back in her seat and opened her scroll. She had downloaded a few movies for the trip, to keep her entertained, but as she looked through them now, she didn’t really feel like watching them. Maybe she had something else she could watch on here, though. She clicked through a few other videos until she found one where the preview image showed Ruby, Blake, and Yang. She hesitated for a moment, but then opened it.

“Okay, but let’s be serious this time.” she heard her own voice saying from behind the camera.

“Of course.” Yang nodded, a grin tugging at her lips as she tried to remain ‘serious’.

“Serious like a grimm attack!” Ruby added with a smile, standing so rigid, it was comical. And then she fell over.

Yang’s grin broke into laughter, and Blake chuckled as she helped Ruby up. “Oh, come on!” Weiss’ voice was complaining. “You’re not even trying!”

“Another one for the blooper reel.” Blake commented.

“There isn’t going to be a blooper reel. I’ve been deleting each one you mess up!” Weiss grumbled.

Ruby looked like someone had eaten all the ice cream and left her the empty carton. “Whaaaat!? Aw, but Weiss, bloopers are the best part! Now we have to do all of them over!”

“We’ve tried this at least twenty times now, and you haven’t gotten it right yet. It’s not a difficult concept.”

“That’s what I’m saying!” Ruby whined. “You wasted so many valuable bloopers! The world will never see that Prof. Port impression I did!”

“Or the Oobleck one after that!” Yang frowned.

“I thought Port was more impressive.” Blake shrugged.

“Quick, Yang! Go get the pillows, I’ll try and redo it!” Ruby smiled.

“Oh, would you stop-” Weiss was saying, when the video ended. She remembered when she’d tried to get them to make Atlas-style logs of their progress as team RWBY. She’d been so excited by the idea of going back and watching the logs, looking back at how much they’d grown as a team after four years at Beacon. She’d wanted it to be perfect, but because of that, she’d tried to stop them from being themselves. She wished she could go back and stop herself from deleting all those silly things they’d done that day. In the end, Ruby had tried to wrestle the scroll away when Weiss went to delete that last one, and so she’d reluctantly promised that she wouldn’t. They’d taken a break after that, saying they’d get back to it, but they never had.

Weiss watched it again, smiling at their antics. She recalled laughing at Ruby’s Prof. Port impression, even as disapproving of it as she was at the time. She wished she could see it again.

She closed her scroll and tried to remind herself that she was going to see Ruby again soon. She was on her way to Patch to see her team leader again, and maybe Ruby would do that impression again if she mentioned it. She would like that. Of course, she also would have liked for the airship to get to Patch without a single incident, but that just couldn’t be the case. She heard yelling from the cockpit, just before a huge crash shook the whole cabin. Garnet, who had been on her way over with some coffee for Weiss, toppled over, spilling the coffee everywhere. some of it landed on Weiss’ dress, and she cursed as the hot liquid burnt her skin.

“Miss Schnee!” Garnet panicked as she got to her feet again. “I’m so sorry! I-I don’t know what just- are you o- where are you going!?”

Weiss had gotten up and was headed toward the back of the airship. “Something’s going on outside!” she said, just as a loud, inhuman screech echoed from outside. “And I bet I know what it is. Stay here.”

“B-but, ma’am! It’s not safe!”

Weiss didn’t answer, hurrying into the cargo bay, where the androids were piling through a hatch in the roof to go deal with the threat. With those things up there, Weiss felt even more rushed to go take care of the situation. She found one of her bags and dug through it until she found her rapier. Myrtenaster in hand, she jumped through the hatch up above and pulled herself the rest of the way onto the back of the airship.

The wind howled, deafening Weiss, but nothing could distract from what she saw. She had expected a nevermore or even two of them, but instead, she was looking at five relatively small grimm with fat faces, huge mouths, and two stubby legs each. Weiss was dumbstruck for a moment, not understanding how these creatures could have gotten on top of an airship all the way up here. There was no way they’d been there the whole time, was there? She couldn’t even remember the name for these things for a moment, and she scolded herself for that, but she didn’t have time to be trying to remember class lessons on the battlefield.

Weiss held up Myrtenaster in front of her, closing her eyes for a moment until a circle of light formed underneath each of the grimm. They tried to move their feet but found that they couldn’t lift them off the circles. The androids moved in to take out the creatures, and Weiss ran one through, herself before allowing her circles to disappear. The robots shoved the Creeps- _that’s right, they were called Creeps!_ \- off of the aircraft and then all turned to look at Weiss. She got the basic picture. They weren’t going back inside until she did. Polite, she supposed, but still unnerving.

With one last glance around and still no idea as to where those grimm had come from, Weiss made her way back down into the ship and up to her seat, where Garnet was still cleaning up the spilled coffee. The attendant jumped to her feet when she caught sight of Weiss.

“Oh, Miss Schnee, thank goodness you’re safe! I was just-”

“Don’t.” Weiss interrupted and picked up the coffee cup from the floor. “Do... Do you think we could just chat? I think I could use some friendly conversation.”

Garnet looked surprised, but then she smiled and sat down in a nearby seat.

“Thank you.” Weiss sighed in appreciation.

“Of course, ma’am. Anything to help.”


	13. What Good Ears You Have

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yang is determined to find her mother, and nothing is going to stop her this time. Not even a stubborn dog or a wise old waitress.

The sun was just beginning to inch its way over the horizon, casting pink and purple hues onto the clouds as Yang peeked out of her bedroom and slowly crept into the front room. Zwei lifted his head with a quiet whine as she passed his bed, and she held a finger to her lips. “Shh. Go back to sleep, Zwei. I’ll be back soon, I promise.”

Zwei, however, stood up, stretched, and walked to the door.

“Zwei, no, it isn’t time for a walk yet. Go back to sleep.” Yang pointed and gestured at the bed, but the dog still stood expectantly by the door. Yang sighed and walked over, watching as the dog wagged his furry little stub of a tail in excitement. She picked him up and walked back over to his bed, setting him down on it. “Stay.” she ordered.

Zwei gave a quiet whine, his ears lying against his head, but Yang turned toward the door again. She reached for the door handle, but she heard a growl and glanced back at the dog. When she lowered her hand, Zwei went quiet. She lifted it again, and he went back to growling. “You wouldn’t dare…” she whispered, grabbing the door handle. Zwei gave a bark. It wasn’t loud, more of a soft, playful yip, but in the middle of the quiet night, it could still be enough to wake dad. Yang jumped, yanking her hand away from the door handle as if it had electrocuted her. “Zwei!” she hissed, and Zwei stared at her with his tongue out. Yang stared back.

She was locked in a staring contest with a Corgi for long minutes before she blinked and Zwei jumped up, running over to her. She sighed and gave in. Stubborn dog. She opened the door, and Zwei ran outside and stopped a few feet away to turn and look at Yang, waiting for her. She stepped outside, opening and closing her fist in front of her. This wouldn’t be like before. At the end of this road, Yang was going to find answers. She tugged her backpack from her back and pulled out her gauntlets. One, she fastened on her wrist with some difficulty, and the other, she slipped onto her right ankle. She’d tweaked half of her Ember Celica to work with her kicks, rather than punches. She hoped to forge a third piece for her left ankle at some point, but she couldn’t do that here in Patch. She planned to get the help of someone at Signal, eventually. If she made it that far.

She shook her head, telling herself. You will make it that far. You’re going to find mom and go help Ruby. Yang set off down the road, repeating to herself that she was going to succeed. She might be lopsided and clumsy now, but she couldn’t let her friends, her sister, or her mom down.

Zwei padded along beside Yang, looking happy. He probably knew she was going on a bit of a mission. He was smart like that, and he was always up for adventure. Of course, he was also always up for laying in his bed all day.

Yang’s walk would soon take her through a small village nearby, where their family often went for groceries. She remembered going down the main street around this time of morning years ago, with her sister in the back of a rusty, old wagon. A few people had asked what she was up to back then, but she’d simply answered that she was visiting family on the other side of town. No one had stopped her, and she’d just kept walking, refusing to stop until she reached her goal. Yang knew better now. When she made it most of the way through town, she stopped for some food, sitting down in front of one of her favorite breakfast places.

It was only a minute or two before a familiar woman came through a door behind the counter. She was backing through the door, looking at something on the other side. “Hey, Mrs. Gray.” Yang greeted, and the woman spun around with a look of glee.

“Well, if it isn’t Y-” she began in her country lilt, before her eyes rested on Yang’s knotted up jacket sleeve and her expression fell. “Oh, Yang. Your dad said you were hurt, but…”

Yang tried not to look as disappointed as she was at Mrs. Gray’s reaction. Her arm- or lack thereof- was the last topic she wanted to go over right now. Seeming to notice Yang’s expression though, Mrs. Gray stopped and just said, “Well, it’s good to see you again, darling. No Tai today, then?”

Yang managed to smile at that and shook her head. “No, I’m with Zwei today.”

Mrs. Gray leaned over the counter to smile at the Corgi who was settled near Yang’s feet. “Oh, so you are! Hey there, little guy! It’s been a while.”

Zwei held up his front paws but reached nowhere near the top of the counter as he whined until he received a few pats on the head. Mrs. Gray laughed fondly and stood up straight again. “I know just what you two want.” she said, turning toward the door again.

“Oh, thanks Mrs. Gray, but I only have enough money for-”

“Nah-uh! This one’s on me, darling! No buts about it!”

“Wait, you don’t have t-” but the door was already swinging closed, and Yang was talking to empty air. She shrugged and looked down at Zwei. “Well, it looks like you chose a good day to be stubborn.” she commented. Zwei looked proud.

Yang slouched in her seat, and Zwei licked her hand as they waited on their food. It would still be an hour or two before dad woke up at home. She hadn’t left a note, partly because she couldn’t give away what she was really doing and partly because trying to write a letter reminded her too much of what Ruby did when she left. Yang wasn’t leaving. At least, not yet. She didn’t know yet what she was going to do once she found her mom. She knew that whatever was waiting for her would probably be crazy enough that things wouldn’t just go back to the way they’d been, but she also knew that she still wasn’t ready to go out and be a huntress again. This trip was already a big risk in itself.

In any case, there wasn’t much use thinking over it too much. Once she found her mom, the next step would just fall into place. If all went well.

Mrs. Gray returned with a glass of orange juice and two plates of blueberry pancakes, eggs, hashbrowns, and bacon. On one plate, everything was miniature, the pancakes each only a couple inches around. She set both plates on the counter, saying, “Two breakfast specials, on me.”

“I’ll make this up to you.” Yang said with a smile as she set the miniature plate on the ground. Zwei happily began to gobble up the bacon first.

“Make what up, sweet heart? I told you, it’s my treat! Nothing to make up. Just enjoy, okay?” She leaned on the counter then and added, “Of course, if you got any gossip to share, I’ll take that. You know I get nosy.”

Yang definitely knew this. Mrs. Gray loved to hear any gossip, no matter how ridiculous it might be. Better yet, she would never repeat what she heard, except maybe to her husband, but what Mr. Gray heard went in one ear and out the other. Because of all this, Mrs. Gray knew almost everything that was going on at anytime, and a lot of things that weren’t actually going on but would be really interesting if they were.

“I mean, I’ve just been at home.” Yang shrugged. “Ruby left a few months ago.”

“Yeah, Tai wouldn’t tell me where that girl went. Just said she had to leave the island for a while.”

Yang stuffed a bite of pancake into her mouth. “Yeh. She lef’ a ledder an’ ran off.”

“Oh, goodness, me.” Mrs. Gray commented. “Have you heard from her?”

Yang swallowed her mouthful of pancake and washed it down with some orange juice. “Well, my uncle Qrow stopped by a couple times.”

“Oh, yes, I saw him.” Mrs. Gray grinned. Many people thought that the waitress had eyes for Qrow, but Yang knew that she really just enjoyed when Qrow was around. He tended to bring drama and entertainment with him, and Mrs. Gray just lived for it.

“He brought a couple messages back from Ruby. She’s with some friends, and Qrow’s been taking care of them, too. So it sounds like she’s doing pretty great. Buuut I did walk in on Qrow and Dad fighting last time he visited…” Mrs. Gray leaned in closer but said nothing as Yang continued. “Something about telling Ruby the truth? Dad seemed pretty steamed about Qrow not doing it yet, but Qrow thought it was a bad idea. I don’t know what it was about… Do you?” she stuffed another bunch of pancake in her mouth.

“Sweetie pie, do you know how many things I’ve heard about Qrow that he might need to fess up to?” Mrs. Gray chuckled, but then seemed thoughtful. “But there is always… Hm.” she stood up straight again, grabbing Yang’s now empty orange juice glass. “Let me get you some more.” she said, before disappearing into the back.

Yang tried to stop her with questions about what she thought Qrow needed to tell Ruby, but her hurried words didn’t quite make it past all the pancakes. Yang had a feeling she wouldn’t tell, anyway. Mrs. Gray might love drama, but she was determined never to be the source of it.

The two chatted, and Yang and Zwei ate for a while longer, enjoying their time there, but Yang eventually knew that she had to get going if she didn’t want her dad to find her here. “Well, thanks for breakfast, Mrs. Gray.”

“Of course, dear. I’m glad you’re out and about again. And Yang?”

“Hm?” Yang wondered, turned half around to get going now.

“If Tai comes by, I never saw you.” she said, with a knowing look and a wink.

Yang was the type to get into some things that her dad was better off not knowing about, and Mrs. Gray had heard about it all, whether from Yang herself or somewhere down the grapevine. She was fully prepared to keep a secret, and Yang appreciated that. “Thanks” she smiled and turned to go with that country accent calling after her.

“Be safe, now!”

Well, heading someplace that was purposely guarded by grimm was definitely not the safest thing Yang could be doing with her time, but at the very least, she had Zwei with her. That was moderately safe, right?

Yang knew the way to that old barn by heart. It was hard to forget the trip she’d made years ago, nearly to her death at the time. She knew that Qrow wouldn’t be there to save her this time, but she wasn’t a helpless kid anymore. In the very worst case, she could still get herself out of there alive. She didn’t want to slink back home to face Dad with nothing to show for her trouble, but in the end, she would never find her mom, see Blake again, or help Ruby if she was dead. At least she had priorities.

After another hour or so of walking though, she was getting bored. She’d been filled with adrenaline while sneaking out of the house, but now that she had some good food in her and not much to do, she found herself getting tired.

She was far enough from the town now that her dad wouldn’t show up looking for her. At least not anytime soon. So, she decided she would take a small break. She sat down beside the path and leaned against a tree trunk, and Zwei happily sat on her lap. She opened a water bottle and poured some into her hand for Zwei to lap up, before taking a few large gulps for herself. At least she didn’t hear that bird song from before. That would have lulled her right to sleep, and she would have been a nice snack, waiting for grimm to gobble her up.

She tried once more to remember how it had sounded, but the only thing that came to her was an old lullaby that Summer used to sing. That one would put her out like a light when she was little. Dad told her once that it was a song Raven and Qrow knew from their childhood and had ended up teaching to Tai and Summer.

Yang thought with amusement about Qrow trying to teach her dad a song of any kind, but then she realized- that song… It was the same song the bird had been singing. She hummed a couple lines to herself to be sure, and then she stood up. Zwei whined, only having just gotten comfortable.

“It was her voice.” she said to Zwei. “She talked to me that day when I passed out in the yard. It was her!” and though Zwei clearly didn’t understand a word of this, Yang found herself once again abandoning reason for the sake of her search. She set off down the road at a run, and she knew now that she wouldn’t be able to stop until she found that old barn.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I learned while writing this that Zwei is almost too much fun to write. It should be against the rules.  
> Also, I want to state for the record that when I started this fic, it was all meant to build up to one specific chapter. I realized somewhere around five chapters in that it wasn't going to end there, and now, 17 chapters written and 13 published, I finally got to write the chapter I've been looking forward to this whole time. I'm seriously happy about this, but also worried because I don't have the next segment of the story planned out quite as well as I've had this bit. I think I have enough plans that it won't complletely fall apart anytime soon though, so we'll see how it all goes.  
> As usual, thank you all so much for reading and for your kudos and comments! It means the world to me! If you're ever interested in how the next chapter is coming or you have questions about any of it, feel free to come follow or send asks to my tumblr blog, raxon-raxoff!


End file.
